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Plectroctena
Plectroctena is a Afrotropical genus of ants, with most species occurring in the rainforest zones of West and Central Africa. Some species are cryptic or subterranean foragers, while others forage in open grassland terrain. The workers forage singly or in groups of 2 to 3. They nest in the earth at varying depths, or in collapsed logs. They prey mainly on millipedes, including their young or eggs.
16 branches of this genus, most-observed first

Ringbum Millipede Muncher Ant
speciesPlectroctena mandibularis

Plectroctena strigosa
speciesPlectroctena strigosa

Plectroctena cristata
speciesPlectroctena cristata

Underground Millipede Muncher ant
speciesPlectroctena subterranea
Plectroctena macgeei
speciesPlectroctena macgeei
Plectroctena gestroi
speciesPlectroctena gestroi
Plectroctena dentata
speciesPlectroctena dentata
Plectroctena hastifera
speciesPlectroctena hastifera
Plectroctena laevior
speciesPlectroctena laevior
Plectroctena lygaria
speciesPlectroctena lygaria
Plectroctena minor
speciesPlectroctena minor
Plectroctena thaui
speciesPlectroctena thaui
Plectroctena ugandensis
speciesPlectroctena ugandensis
Plectroctena cryptica
speciesPlectroctena cryptica
Plectroctena anops
speciesPlectroctena anops
Plectroctena latinodis
speciesPlectroctena latinodis
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 Plectroctena 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 427665.