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Rainbow, Tyrant, and Meat Ants
Iridomyrmex
Iridomyrmex is a genus of ants called rainbow ants (referring to their blue-green iridescent sheen) first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae. It has 79 described species and five fossil species. Most of these ants are native to Australia; others are found in Asia and Oceania, and they have been introduced to Brazil, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates. Fossil species are known from China, France, and the United States.
These ants are known to be an ecologically dominant and important group of ants, but they are sometimes regarded as pests because they disturb soil and enter human houses. Farmers in rural Australia place animal carcasses on meat ant (I. purpureus) mounds as a method of disposing of them; meat ants consume the carcass and reduce it to bones in a matter of weeks. Meat ants also engage in ritualised fighting, which helps prevent casualties and solve territorial disputes between neighbouring colonies. The largest members of this genus are those of the I. purpureus species group, measuring 8 mm (0.31 in).
59 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Meat Ants
complexIridomyrmex purpureus
Asian Tyrant Ant
speciesIridomyrmex anceps
Tufted Tyrant Ant
speciesIridomyrmex rufoniger
Suchier's meat ant
speciesIridomyrmex suchieri
Iridomyrmex rubriceps
speciesIridomyrmex rubriceps
Iridomyrmex mayri
speciesIridomyrmex mayri
Black Tyrant Ant
speciesIridomyrmex bicknelli
Iridomyrmex pallidus
speciesIridomyrmex pallidus
Iridomyrmex discors
complexIridomyrmex discors
Iridomyrmex conifer
speciesIridomyrmex conifer
Agile Tyrant Ant
speciesIridomyrmex agilis
Iridomyrmex turbineus
speciesIridomyrmex turbineus
Iridomyrmex calvus
complexIridomyrmex calvus
Iridomyrmex chasei
speciesIridomyrmex chasei
Iridomyrmex longisoma
speciesIridomyrmex longisoma
Iridomyrmex alpinus
speciesIridomyrmex alpinus
Iridomyrmex difficilis
speciesIridomyrmex difficilis
Iridomyrmex dromus
speciesIridomyrmex dromus
Iridomyrmex hartmeyeri
speciesIridomyrmex hartmeyeri
Iridomyrmex brunneus
speciesIridomyrmex brunneus
Iridomyrmex suchieroides
speciesIridomyrmex suchieroides
Iridomyrmex angusticeps
speciesIridomyrmex angusticeps
Iridomyrmex omalonotus
speciesIridomyrmex omalonotus
Iridomyrmex mjobergi
speciesIridomyrmex mjobergi
Iridomyrmex roseatus
speciesIridomyrmex roseatus
Iridomyrmex spurcus
speciesIridomyrmex spurcus
Iridomyrmex minor
speciesIridomyrmex minor
Iridomyrmex splendens
speciesIridomyrmex splendens
Iridomyrmex meridianus
speciesIridomyrmex meridianus
Iridomyrmex neocaledonica
speciesIridomyrmex neocaledonica
Iridomyrmex victorianus
speciesIridomyrmex victorianus
Iridomyrmex xanthocoxa
speciesIridomyrmex xanthocoxa
Iridomyrmex trigonoceps
speciesIridomyrmex trigonoceps
Iridomyrmex tenuiceps
speciesIridomyrmex tenuiceps
Iridomyrmex macrops
speciesIridomyrmex macrops
Iridomyrmex luteoclypeatus
speciesIridomyrmex luteoclypeatus
Iridomyrmex phillipensis
speciesIridomyrmex phillipensis
Iridomyrmex mirabilis
speciesIridomyrmex mirabilis
Iridomyrmex nudipes
speciesIridomyrmex nudipes
Iridomyrmex adstringatus
speciesIridomyrmex adstringatus
Iridomyrmex continentis
speciesIridomyrmex continentis
Iridomyrmex tenebrans
speciesIridomyrmex tenebrans
Iridomyrmex atypicus
speciesIridomyrmex atypicus
Iridomyrmex azureus
speciesIridomyrmex azureus
Iridomyrmex brennani
speciesIridomyrmex brennani
Iridomyrmex cuneiceps
speciesIridomyrmex cuneiceps
Iridomyrmex cupreus
speciesIridomyrmex cupreus
Iridomyrmex curvifrons
speciesIridomyrmex curvifrons
Iridomyrmex cyaneus
speciesIridomyrmex cyaneus
Iridomyrmex niger
speciesIridomyrmex niger
Iridomyrmex elongatus
speciesIridomyrmex elongatus
Iridomyrmex exsanguis
speciesIridomyrmex exsanguis
Iridomyrmex fulgens
speciesIridomyrmex fulgens
Iridomyrmex gibbus
speciesIridomyrmex gibbus
Iridomyrmex gumnos
speciesIridomyrmex gumnos
Iridomyrmex hertogi
speciesIridomyrmex hertogi
Iridomyrmex infuscus
speciesIridomyrmex infuscus
Iridomyrmex setoconus
speciesIridomyrmex setoconus
Iridomyrmex mattiroloi
speciesIridomyrmex mattiroloi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Iridomyrmex in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 202001.