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Cardiocondyla

Cardiocondyla is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.[2]

Cardiocondyla
C. wroughtonii ergatoid male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Alliance: Cataulacus genus group
Genus: Cardiocondyla
Emery, 1869
Type species
Cardiocondyla elegans
Emery, 1869
Diversity[1]
88 species
Synonyms

Dyclona Santschi, 1930
Emeryia Forel, 1890
Loncyda Santschi, 1930
Prosopidris Wheeler, 1935
Xenometra Emery, 1917

Cardiocondyla pirata paratype

Distribution

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Approximately 90 species are currently recognized as belonging to this genus, most of which are distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics, but a few of which occur in the temperate zone. Some species are also found widely separated in North America and the Pacific Islands, as a result of human introduction.[3]

Description

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Several species of this genus have a striking male polymorphism, with both winged and wingless forms. These males differ not only in morphology, but also in reproductive tactics.[3] Closely related genera are Leptothorax, Stereomyrmex and Romblonella.[4]

Outbreeding

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Cardiocondyla elegans worker ants transport young queen ants to alien nests to promote outbreeding.[5] This allows avoidance of inbreeding depression. The worker ants, sisters of these queens, may transport the queens several meters from their natal nest and drop them off at another, alien nest to promote outbreeding with wingless stationary males in a process somewhat analogous to third party matchmaking in humans.[5] After mating during the winter, the sexual females may depart in the spring and find their own colonies.

Species

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As of 2026, Cardiocondyla contains 88 valid species, including 87 extant and one extinct.[1]

Extant

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Extinct

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Unidentifiable

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One species in the genus has been noted to be unidentifiable to species level as its descriptions was lost or too vague and the type specimens lost, although it theoretically remains a valid binomen. It is listed below.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Bolton, B. (2026). "Cardiocondyla". AntCat. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  2. ↑ "Genus: Cardiocondyla". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 Okita, I.; Murase, K.; Sato, T.; Kato, K.; Hosoda, A.; Terayama, M.; Masuko, K. (2013). "The Spatial Distribution of mtDNA and Phylogeographic Analysis of the Ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Japan". Sociobiology. 60 (2): 129–134. doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v60i2.129-134.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Robert W. (1991). "Notes on the ant genera Romblonella and Willowsiella, with comments on their affinities, and the first descriptions of Australian species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 97 (3–4): 281–298. doi:10.1155/1990/29514.
  5. 1 2 Vidal, Mathilde; Königseder, Florian; Giehr, Julia; Schrempf, Alexandra; Lucas, Christophe; Heinze, Jürgen (2021). "Worker ants promote outbreeding by transporting young queens to alien nests". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 515. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02016-1. PMC 8093424. PMID 33941829.
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