Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 7 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5770, pp. 101 - 104
DOI: 10.1126/science.1124891
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms

Corrie S. Moreau,1* Charles D. Bell,2 Roger Vila,1 S. Bruce Archibald,1 Naomi E. Pierce1

We present a large-scale molecular phylogeny of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), based on 4.5 kilobases of sequence data from six gene regions extracted from 139 of the 288 described extant genera, representing 19 of the 20 subfamilies. All but two subfamilies are recovered as monophyletic. Divergence time estimates calibrated by minimum age constraints from 43 fossils indicate that most of the subfamilies representing extant ants arose much earlier than previously proposed but only began to diversify during the Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene. This period also witnessed the rise of angiosperms and most herbivorous insects.

1 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 School of Computational Science, Florida State University, 150-R Dirac Science Library, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4120, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cmoreau{at}oeb.harvard.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Ants (Formicidae): Models for Social Complexity.
C. R. Smith, A. Dolezal, D. Eliyahu, C. T. Holbrook, and J. Gadau (2009)
CSH Protocols 2009, pdb.emo125
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Episodes in insect evolution.
T. J. Bradley, A. D. Briscoe, S. G. Brady, H. L. Contreras, B. N. Danforth, R. Dudley, D. Grimaldi, J. F. Harrison, J. A. Kaiser, C. Merlin, et al. (2009)
Integr. Comp. Biol.
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Method for Investigating Relative Timing Information on Phylogenetic Trees.
D. Ford, F. A. Matsen, and T. Stadler (2009)
Syst Biol
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rosid radiation and the rapid rise of angiosperm-dominated forests.
H. Wang, M. J. Moore, P. S. Soltis, C. D. Bell, S. F. Brockington, R. Alexandre, C. C. Davis, M. Latvis, S. R. Manchester, and D. E. Soltis (2009)
PNAS 106, 3853-3858
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Newly discovered sister lineage sheds light on early ant evolution.
C. Rabeling, J. M. Brown, and M. Verhaagh (2008)
PNAS 105, 14913-14917
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Biodiversity informatics: the challenge of linking data and the role of shared identifiers.
R. D. M. Page (2008)
Brief Bioinform 9, 345-354
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Historical Biogeography, Divergence Times, and Diversification Patterns of Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus).
H. M. Hines (2008)
Syst Biol 57, 58-75
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rapid diversification and dispersal during periods of global warming by plethodontid salamanders.
D. R. Vieites, M.-S. Min, and D. B. Wake (2007)
PNAS 104, 19903-19907
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
THE ANTS OF THE GENUS MYRMICA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE) FROM BALTIC AND SAXONIAN AMBER (LATE EOCENE).
A. RADCHENKO, G. DLUSSKY, and G. W. ELMES (2007)
Journal of Paleontology 81, 1494-1501
   Full Text »    PDF »
Steady diversification of derived liverworts under Tertiary climatic fluctuations.
R. Wilson, J. Heinrichs, J. Hentschel, S.R. Gradstein, and H. Schneider (2007)
Biol Lett 3, 566-569
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Time to Standardize Taxonomies.
J. C. Avise and D. Mitchell (2007)
Syst Biol 56, 130-133
   Full Text »    PDF »
Global patterns of diversification in the history of modern amphibians.
K. Roelants, D. J. Gower, M. Wilkinson, S. P. Loader, S. D. Biju, K. Guillaume, L. Moriau, and F. Bossuyt (2007)
PNAS 104, 887-892
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants.
S. G. Brady, T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher, and P. S. Ward (2006)
PNAS 103, 18172-18177
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Charting uncertainty about ant origins.
R. H. Crozier (2006)
PNAS 103, 18029-18030
   Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)