Cataglyphis

Taxobox
name = "Cataglyphis"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
familia = Formicidae
subfamilia = Formicinae
tribus = Formicini
genus = "Cataglyphis"
genus_authority = Förster, 1850
diversity_link = Cataglyphis
diversity = c. 65 species
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "C. bicolor"
"C. hannae"
"C. bombycinus"
many more, see text

"Cataglyphis" is a genus of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. Its most famous species is "C. bicolor", the Sahara Desert ant, which runs on hot sand to find insects that died of heat exhaustion, and can sustain body temperatures of up to 50°C.

Description

Species of this genus are generally morphologically and physiologically adapted to dry and hot habitatsPetrov 1986] .

Distribution

At least five different species of "Cataglyphis" occur in the Sahara desert, which may be considered the center of distribution for this genus [Bernard 1968] . Some species reach into southern Russia, the European part of Turkey, the Aral-Caspian area near Tijanchan, Yugoslavia and Hungary.

pecies

Footnotes

References

* (1968): Les fourmis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) d'Europe occidentale et septentrionale.
* (1986): Distribution of species of the genus "Cataglyphis" Foerster, 1850 (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) in Yugoslavia. "Arh. biol. nauka" 38: 11-12. [http://www.archive.org/download/ants_10311/10311.pdf PDF]
* ITIS: [http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=573957 "Cataglyphis" species list]

Further reading

* (2002): The visual centring response in desert ants, "Cataglyphis fortis". "The Journal of Experimental Biology" 205: 585-590. [http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/205/5/585 Full HTML] - [http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/205/5/585.pdf PDF]

External links

* YouTube: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9KDM4C1kVg Video of "Cataglyphis" catching prey in the Sahara desert]