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Mushroom harvesting ants


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#1 Offline Foogoo - Posted January 12 2016 - 1:43 PM

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This study reports the discovery of a new lifestyle in ants. In a Southeast Asian rainforest habitat, Euprenolepis procera is specialized in harvesting a broad spectrum of naturally growing mushrooms, a nutritionally challenging and spatiotemporally unpredictable food source. While unfavorable to the vast majority of animals, E. procera has developed exceptional adaptations such as a shift to a fully nomadic lifestyle and special food processing capabilities, which allow it to rely entirely on mushrooms. As a consequence, E. procera is the most efficient and predominant consumer of epigeic mushrooms in the studied habitat and this has broad implications for the tropical rainforest ecosystem.

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Camponotus vicinus, Crematogaster 1, Crematogaster 2, Formica francoeuri, *, *, Myrmecocystus testaceus, Novomessor cockerelli, Pheidole hyatti, Pogonomyrmex californicus, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Solenopsis invicta


#2 Offline Teleutotje - Posted January 14 2016 - 7:43 AM

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It's from 2008, not the only species any more that does this....



#3 Offline mean gene - Posted January 16 2016 - 6:05 AM

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Cool!






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