Sri Lankan relict ant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sri Lankan relict ant |
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| Aneuretus simoni worker | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Aneuretus
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| Species: |
simoni
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The Sri Lankan relict ant (its scientific name is Aneuretus simoni) is a special type of ant. It belongs to its very own group, called a tribe, within the ant family Formicidae. This ant is the only one of its kind in its group (meaning it's monotypic). You can only find it in Sri Lanka, in just a few places. It is one of the rare ant species that is considered to be in danger of disappearing.
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About the Sri Lankan Relict Ant
The Sri Lankan relict ant is the only living type of ant in its special group, called Aneuretini. Other ants in this group are now extinct. Scientists believe these ants are a link between older ant groups like the Myrmeciinae and Ponerinae, and newer ones like the Dolichoderinae.
Worker Ants
Worker ants of this species come in two very different sizes. There are "major" workers, which are much bigger, and "minor" workers, which are smaller. There are not many ants that are in-between these two sizes. Most of the ants in a nest are the smaller "minor" workers.
These minor workers have small compound eyes. Each eye has only about 30 tiny parts, called ommatidia. Their antennae have 12 parts, which get a little bigger from the base to the tip. The part of their face called the clypeus is wide and flat. It does not have a ridge in the middle. Their mouthparts are similar to those of Dolichoderinae ants.
Special Features
The Sri Lankan relict ant has spines that stick out on its back part, called the propodeum. The part of their body called the petiole node is separated from the front part by bumps on the sides and top. They have a strong sting that looks like the sting of Dolichoderinae ants.
Worker ants are yellow to orange in color. Their bodies have small lines across them. The queen ant is bigger than the major worker. She has smaller propodeal spines and a much wider head than the major worker.
Life and Habits
When these ants are in their pupa stage (like a cocoon before becoming an adult), they are covered in cocoons. This is a special feature for them.
These ants are predators, which means they hunt other small creatures for food. They mostly look for food on the ground, especially in fallen leaves and other plant bits. The larger "major" workers are very rare. A colony usually has only one or two of them. The way these ant colonies are organized is similar to how Dolichoderinae ant colonies are set up.
Where They Live
These ants are only found in a few places in central Sri Lanka. In a forest called Gilimale, a famous scientist named E O Wilson and his team found colonies mostly at the edges of open areas in the forest.
Their nests are small and do not have many ants. A nest might have anywhere from two to one hundred ants. They usually build their nests inside rotting or crumbly pieces of wood, or in fallen logs. The few areas where these ants live are often disturbed by people.
E. O. Wilson suggested that this ant species should be protected. It has not been found in many places where it used to live. A study in 1985 found the species in only one place, Gilimale.
"Twenty years later, one of my undergraduate students, Anula Jayasuriya, a native Sri Lankan, found the species rare or absent in the same localities. I recommended placement of Aneuretus simoni in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and in time it became one of the first of several ants to be officially classified as a threatened or endangered species."
– E. O. Wilson, from Naturalist (1994)
