Aenictoteratini is a myrmecophilous tribe of rove beetles in the subfamily Aleocharinae which contains 10 genera, 7 of which are monotypic.[1] In total, there are 17 species currently listed as Aenictoteratini.[1]
| Aenictoteratini | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Staphylinidae |
| Subfamily: | Aleocharinae |
| Tribe: | Aenictoteratini Kistner, 1993 |
| Genera | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Aenictobiini | |
Distribution edit
Most Aenictoteratini genera are found in East Asia, specifically China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, while Weiria australis (Ashe, 2003) is the only species known from Australia.[2] All species are found inside of nests of the ant genus Aenictus.[3]
Description edit
Members of this tribe are highly adapted to life among ants, with body shapes resembling those of their hosts.[3]
Taxonomy edit
Many genera placed in Aenictoteratini when the tribe was created in 1993 have subsequently been moved to the Myrmedoniina, a subtribe of Lomechusini, after phylogenetic analyses revealed that the group was not monophyletic.[3][2][4] Many of the characteristics first used to define the tribe, such as an antlike "pseudo-gaster" narrowed abdomen, can be found in other lineages of myrmecophilous Aleocharinae that resemble ants, making this a case of convergent evolution.[3][2][4]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Aenictoteratini Kistner, 1993 | COL".
- ^ a b c Orlov, Igor; Newton, Alfred F.; Solodovnikov, Alexey (November 8, 2021). "Phylogenetic review of the tribal system of Aleocharinae, a mega‐lineage of terrestrial arthropods in need of reclassification". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 59 (8): 1903–1938. doi:10.1111/jzs.12524. S2CID 239071401.
- ^ a b c d "Giraffaenictus eguchii (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), a New Genus and Species of Fully Myrmecoid Myrmecophile from a Colony of Aenictus binghami (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Aenictinae) in Vietnam | Collections | Kyushu University Library". hdl:2324/12497.
- ^ a b Maruyama, Munetoshi; Parker, Joseph (March 2017). "Deep-Time Convergence in Rove Beetle Symbionts of Army Ants". Current Biology. 27 (6): 920–926. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.030. PMID 28285995. S2CID 3982685. Retrieved 10 May 2023.