Sphecomyrminae Wilson and Brown 1967

Borysenko, Leonid H., 2017, Description of a new genus of primitive ants from Canadian amber, with the study of relationships between stem- and crown-group ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Insecta Mundi 2017 (570), pp. 1-57 : 15

Subfamily Sphecomyrminae Wilson and Brown 1967

Composition. Tribes Sphecomyrmini , Haidomyrmecini , Zigrasimeciini .

Discussion. It has been assumed that the Sphecomyrminae is a group close to the formicoid clade of the crown group ( Taylor 1978; Rabeling et al. 2008). The Sphecomyrminae do indeed resemble representatives of the formicoid clade by the habitus, the presence of ocelli, and an unspecialized (though only in the Sphecomyrmini ) head capsule similar to that of primitive formicines ( Prolasius Forel , Notoncus Emery , Prenolepis Mayr ) ( Wilson et al. 1967). However, the data presented here suggest that the Sphecomyrminae is a stem clade, i.e., a sister group to the crown clade.

The clade is doubtfully monophyletic. The three subclades (tribes) may represent an artificial assemblage, although the Sphecomyrmini and Zigrasimeciini do seem closely related. Some important characters appeared to be variable. For example, scape length in Sphecomyrminae comprises 20 % of flagellum length, compared with 60 % in the crown group, and varies in a large range (discussed below). Other variable characters include the presence of the gastral constriction, trochantellus, and clypeal peg-like setae.