Cephalotes membranaceus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Genus: Cephalotes
Species:
C. membranaceus
Binomial name
Cephalotes membranaceus
(Klug, 1824)

Cephalotes membranaceus is a species of arboreal ant of the genus Cephalotes, characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they're on. Giving their name also as gliding ants.[1][2] The species is native of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo.[3] Their larger and flatter legs, a trait common with other members of the genus Cephalotes, gives them their gliding abilities.[4]

The species was first given a description and a classification in 1824 by German entomologist Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug.

References

  1. ↑ Latreille, P.A. (1802). Histoire naturelle, generale et particuliere des crustaces et des insectes. Vol. 3. F. Dufart, Paris. 467 pp. PDF
  2. ↑ Yanoviak, S. P.; Munk, Y.; Dudley, R. (2011). "Evolution and Ecology of Directed Aerial Descent in Arboreal Ants". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 51 (6): 944–956. doi:10.1093/icb/icr006. PMID 21562023.
  3. ↑ "Species Range Maps". Antmaps.org. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. ↑ De Andrade, Maria; Urbani, Cesare (1999). Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Stuttgarter Beitraege zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Palaeontologie). pp. 297-299. Retrieved 27 January 2019.


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