Global InformationMycocepurus smithii information
| Mycocepurus smithii | |
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| Specimen of Mycocepurus smithii | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Mycocepurus |
| Species: | M. smithii
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| Binomial name | |
| Mycocepurus smithii (Forel, 1893)
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| Distribution of Mycocepurus smithii | |
Mycocepurus smithii is a species of fungus-growing ant from Latin America. This species is widely distributed geographically and can be found from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south, as well as on some Caribbean Islands.[1][2][3] It lives in a variety of forested habitats and associated open areas.[2] Two studies published in 2009 demonstrated that some populations of the species consist exclusively of females which reproduce via thelytokous parthenogenesis.[4][5] A detailed study found evidence of sexual reproduction in some populations in the Brazilian Amazon.[3] Accordingly, M. smithii consists of a mosaic of sexually and asexually reproducing populations.[3] In asexual populations all ants in a single colony are female clones of the queen.[3] Inside the colony, the ants cultivate a garden of fungus grown with pieces of dead vegetable matter, dead insects, and insect droppings.[6][7]
- ^ Kempf, W (1963). "A review of the ant genus Mycocepurus Forel, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Studia Entomologica.
- ^ a b Mackay, William P.; Maes, Jean-Michel; Fernández, Patricia Rojas; Luna, Gladys (2004-08-24). "The ants of North and Central America: the genus Mycocepurus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". The Journal of Insect Science. 4: 27. doi:10.1093/jis/4.1.27. ISSN 1536-2442. PMC 1081568. PMID 15861242. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
- ^ a b c d Rabeling, Christian; Gonzales, Omar; Schultz, Ted R.; Bacci, Maurício; Garcia, Marcos V. B.; Verhaagh, Manfred; Ishak, Heather D.; Mueller, Ulrich G. (June 14, 2011). "Cryptic sexual populations account for genetic diversity and ecological success in a widely distributed, asexual fungus-growing ant". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (30): 12366–12371. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10812366R. doi:10.1073/pnas.1105467108. PMC 3145723. PMID 21768368.
- ^ Himler AG, Caldera EJ, Baer BC, Fernández-Marín H, Mueller UG (2009). "No sex in fungus-farming ants or their crops". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 276 (1667): 2611–6. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0313. PMC 2686657. PMID 19369264.
- Victoria Gill (2009-04-15). "Ants inhabit 'world without sex'". BBC News.
- ^ Rabeling, C; Lino-Neto, J; Cappellari, SC; Dos-Santos, IA; Mueller, UG (2009). "Thelytokous Parthenogenesis in the Fungus-Gardening Ant Mycocepurus smithii (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". PLOS ONE. 4 (8): 12366–12371. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.6781R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006781. PMC 2728836. PMID 19707513.
- ^ Fernandez-Marin, H.; Zimmerman, J. K.; Wcislo, W. T.; Rehner, S. A. (2005). "Colony foundation, nest architecture and demography of a basal fungus-growing ant, Mycocepurus smithii (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. 39 (20): 1735–1743. doi:10.1080/00222930400027462. S2CID 36894744. Retrieved 2016-07-07.
- ^ Rabeling, C; Verhaagh, M; Engels, W (2007). "Comparative study of nest architecture and colony structure of the fungus-growing ants, Mycocepurus goeldii and M. smithii". Journal of Insect Science. 7 (40): 1–13. doi:10.1673/031.007.4001. PMC 2999435. PMID 20331400.