{{Short description|Genus of ants}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Harpegnathos_saltator_fight.jpg | image_caption = Worker ''H. saltator'' killing a queen in an inter-colony conflict | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Harpegnathos | authority = Jerdon, 1851 | type_species = ''Harpegnathos saltator''<ref name="AWHarpegnathos"/> | type_species_authority = Jerdon, 1851 | diversity_link = #Species | diversity = 9 species | diversity_ref = <ref name="AntCat">{{AntCat|430084|''Harpegnathos''|2015|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref> | synonyms = ''Drepanognathus'' <small>Smith, F., 1858</small> }}
'''''Harpegnathos''''' is a small ponerine genus of ants found in South and Southeast Asia. They are notable for their jumping ability, complex colony structure, and large to very large workers easily identifiable by their long mandibles and large eyes.<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014"/>
==Taxonomy== left|thumb|Head view of a ''Harpegnathos saltator'' worker, showing their characteristic long scythe-shaped mandibles The genus was established by Thomas C. Jerdon in 1851 to house the single species ''Harpegnathos saltator'', found in India.<ref name="Jerdon_1851"/> Believing that the name was unavailable due to homonymy, Smith (1858)<ref name="Smith_1858"/> incorrectly erected the unnecessary replacement name ''Drepanognathus'' (now a synonym of ''Harpegnathos''). For some time, both names were used in publications by other authors until the original name was restored.<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014"/> The most recent species was described in 2016, making the total number of ''Harpegnathos'' species nine, with an additional four described subspecies.<ref name="AntCat"/> The genus is closely related to the other genera in its tribe, Ponerini, and is probably a sister to all Ponerini.<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014"/>
==Multifunctional mandibles== The ant's mandible exhibits '''''spatially-dependent morphology''''' and '''''bi-axial kinematics''''', which collectively allows it to perform various daily labors from hunting and attacking to carefully caring for ant eggs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wei |first1=Zhang |title=Multifunctional mandibles of ants: Variation in gripping behavior facilitated by specific microstructures and kinematics |journal=Journal of Insect Physiology |date=2020 |volume=120 |article-number=103993 |doi=10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.103993 |pmid=31836493 |bibcode=2020JInsP.12003993Z |s2cid=209358666 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191019302136|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Regarding the spatially-dependent morphology, at the distal-to-middle part, the mandible has double-rowed, non-parallel teeth responsible for powerful clamping. At the proximal part, the mandible has a smooth concavity that is solely used for gently gripping ant eggs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wei |first1=Zhang |last2=et |first2=al. |title=A mathematical modeling method elucidating the integrated gripping performance of ant mandibles and bio-inspired grippers |journal=Journal of Bionic Engineering |date=2020 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=732–746 |doi=10.1007/s42235-020-0065-9 |s2cid=220503041 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42235-020-0065-9#article-info|url-access=subscription }}</ref> On the other hand, the mandible rotates about two orthogonal axes, changing the mandibular distance and configuration simultaneously.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wei |first1=Zhang |last2=et |first2=al. |title=Double-rowed teeth: design specialization of the H. venator ants for enhanced tribological stability |journal=Bioinspiration & Biomimetics |date=2021 |volume=16 |issue=5 |page=055003 |doi=10.1088/1748-3190/ac124a |pmid=34233306 |s2cid=235768522 |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/ac124a/meta|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The spatially-dependent morphology and bi-axial kinematics endow the ant mandible multifunctionality.
== Hunting behavior == ''Harpegnathos'' is an extremely distinctive genus appearance-wise, being very reminiscent of the ''Myrmecia'' found in Australia. Like ''Myrmecia'', ''Harpegnathos'' has very large eyes, since both hunt mostly by vision and do not lay down pheromone trails like most other ants.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Functional characterization of odorant receptors in the ponerine ant, Harpegnathos saltator |first1=Jesse D. |last1=Slone |first2=Gregory M. |last2=Pask |first3=Stephen T. |last3=Ferguson |first4=Jocelyn G. |last4=Millar |first5=Shelley L. |last5=Berger |first6=Danny |last6=Reinberg |first7=Jürgen |last7=Liebig |first8=Anandasankar |last8=Ray |first9=Laurence J. |last9=Zwiebel |journal=PNAS |volume=114 |issue=32 |pages=8586–859 |date=2017 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1704647114 |doi-access=free |pmid=28696298 |language=en|pmc=5559025 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.8586S }}</ref> Also like ''Myrmecia,'' they have large jaws since, owing to their lack of pheromone signals, workers are solitary hunters and must carry food back to the nest in their jaws since they also lack a social stomach.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Smaller Brains and Optic Lobes in Reproductive Workers of the Ant Harpegnathos |last1=Gronenberg |first1=W. |last2=Liebig |first2=J. |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=86 |pages=343–345 |date=1999 |issue=7 |doi=10.1007/s001140050631 |bibcode=1999NW.....86..343G |s2cid=41170361 |language=en}}</ref>
==Colony structure== ''Harpegnathos'' has a complex and different colony structure compared to other genera. In the beginning, young winged queens fly out from their natal colony, mate with foreign males and start new colonies independently. What differs from other ants is that, once the short-lived founding queen dies, several daughter workers replace her as reproductives in the colony. Characteristic of several ponerine species, workers can mate (almost always with foreign males) and store sperm in the spermatheca.<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014"/>
In ''H. saltator'', many young workers inbreed with males from the same colony (their brothers). They fight to establish a dominance hierarchy, and a few high-ranking workers become reproductives and lay eggs, so-called gamergates. Every year, new winged queens are reared, and they disperse and start the process again. The combination of queen and gamergate reproduction results in an increased lifespan of colonies, in theory making them immortal.<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014"/><ref name="Peeters&Liebig&Holldobler_2000"/>
==Species== [[File:Harpegnathos alperti ANTWEB1008901 profile.tif|thumb|right|upright|''Harpegnathos alperti'']] * ''Harpegnathos alperti'' {{small|General, 2016}}<ref name="General2016">{{cite journal |last1=General |first1=D.E.M. |year=2016 |title=A review of the ant genus ''Harpegnathos'' Jerdon, 1851 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Philippines, with the description of two new species |journal=Halteres |volume=7 |pages=99–105}}</ref> * ''Harpegnathos empesoi'' {{small|Chapman, 1963}} * ''Harpegnathos hobbyi'' {{small|Donisthorpe, 1937}} * ''Harpegnathos honestoi'' {{small|General, 2016}} * ''Harpegnathos macgregori'' {{small|Wheeler & Chapman, 1925}} * ''Harpegnathos medioniger'' {{small|Donisthorpe, 1942}} * ''Harpegnathos pallipes'' {{small|(Smith, 1858)}} * ''Harpegnathos saltator'' {{small|Jerdon, 1851}} * ''Harpegnathos venator'' {{small|(Smith, 1858)}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="AWHarpegnathos">{{cite web |url=http://www.antweb.org/description.do?name=Harpegnathos&rank=genus&project=allantwebants |title= Genus: ''Harpegnathos'' |website=antweb.org |publisher=AntWeb |access-date=13 October 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Jerdon_1851">{{cite journal |last=Jerdon |first=T. C. |date=1851 |title=A catalogue of the species of ants found in Southern India. |journal=Madras Journal of Literature and Science |volume=17 |pages=103–127 }}</ref>
<ref name="Smith_1858">Smith, F. (1858). ''Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae''. London: British Museum, 216 pp.</ref>
<ref name="Peeters&Liebig&Holldobler_2000">{{cite journal |author1=Peeters, C. |author2=Liebig, J. |author3=Hölldobler, B. |year=2000 |title=Sexual reproduction by both queens and workers in the ponerine ant ''Harpegnathos saltator'' |journal=Insectes Sociaux |volume=47 |pages=325–332 |doi=10.1007/PL00001724 |issue=4 |s2cid=8728206 }}</ref>
<ref name="Schmidt&Shattuck_2014">{{cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=C. A |last2=Shattuck |first2=S. O. |date=2014 |title=The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior |journal=Zootaxa |volume=3817 |issue=1 |pages=1–242 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1 |pmid=24943802}}</ref>
}}
==External links== * [https://theantvault.com/ The Ant Vault] *{{Commons category-inline|Harpegnathos|''Harpegnathos''}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2084655}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Ponerinae Category:Ant genera Category:Hymenoptera of Asia