View source for Biology:Cataglyphis cursor

{{short description|Species of ant}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Cataglyphis cursor creticus casent0102116 dorsal 1.jpg
|image_caption = ''Cataglyphis cursor'' subsp. ''creticus'' worker
| taxon = Cataglyphis cursor
| authority = (Fonscolombe, 1846)
}}

'''''Cataglyphis cursor''''' is a species of [[Biology:Ant|ant]] in the genus ''[[Biology:Cataglyphis|Cataglyphis]]''.<ref name="AntCat"/> Described in 1846, it is known only from the Mediterranean parts of France.<ref name="Borowiec&Salata_2013"/>

==Reproduction==

[[Biology:Parthenogenesis|Parthenogenesis]] is a natural form of reproduction in which growth and development of [[Biology:Embryo|embryo]]s occur without fertilization.  Thelytoky is a particular form of parthenogenesis in which the development of a female individual occurs from an unfertilized egg.  Automixis is a form of thelytoky, but there are several kinds of automixis.  The kind of automixis relevant here is one in which two [[Biology:Ploidy|haploid]] products from the same [[Biology:Meiosis|meiosis]] combine to form a [[Biology:Ploidy|diploid]] [[Biology:Zygote|zygote]].

[[File:Central fusion and terminal fusion automixis.svg|thumb|Central fusion and terminal fusion automixis]]
The process of automictic thelytoky with central fusion has been studied in ''C. cursor''.<ref name=Pearcy>{{cite journal |vauthors=Pearcy M, Aron S, Doums C, Keller L |title=Conditional use of sex and parthenogenesis for worker and queen production in ants |journal=Science |volume=306 |issue=5702 |pages=1780–3 |year=2004 |pmid=15576621 |doi=10.1126/science.1105453 |bibcode=2004Sci...306.1780P |s2cid=37558595 |url=https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_B02C2CCCBCB4}}</ref><ref name="pmid21307046">{{cite journal |vauthors=Aron S, Timmermans I, Pearcy M |title=Ant queens adjust egg fertilization to benefit from both sexual and asexual reproduction |journal=Biology Letters |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=571–573 |year=2011 |pmid=21307046 |pmc=3130223 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2010.1189 }}</ref>  Central fusion allows heterozygosity to be largely maintained.  [[Biology:Queen ant|Queen ant]]s use this process to produce female reproductive progeny ([[Biology:Gyne|gyne]]s), thus increasing the transmission of their own genes through the [[Biology:Germline|germline]] lineage.  Also, queens use sexual reproduction to produce worker ants.  In ''C. cursor'' colonies with a single queen, 96.4% of daughter queens arise from thelytokous parthenogenetic eggs, while 97.9% of daughter workers arise from fertilized eggs.<ref name=Pearcy />

== Subspecies==
Besides the type subspecies, the following three are recognized:

* ''Cataglyphis cursor'' subsp. ''aterrimus'' Pisarski, 1967
* ''Cataglyphis cursor'' subsp. ''creticus'' (Forel, 1910)
* ''Cataglyphis cursor'' subsp. ''rockingeri'' (Forel, 1911)

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="AntCat">{{AntCat|434409|''Cataglyphis cursor''|2015|accessdate=31 January 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="Borowiec&Salata_2013">{{cite journal |last1=Borowiec |first1=L. |last2=Salata |first2=S. |date=2013 |title=Ants of Greece&nbsp;– additions and corrections (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) |journal=Genus |location=Wroclaw |volume=24 |issue=3–4 |pages=335–401 |url=http://www.cassidae.uni.wroc.pl/Borowiec%20&%20Salata_Ants%20of%20Greece%20additions%20and%20corrections_low.pdf}}</ref>

}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q9707720}}

[[Category:Formicinae]]



{{Sourceattribution|Cataglyphis cursor}}