Pheidole viserion and Pheidole drogon . This is how the two new species of ants of the genus Pheidole that have been discovered in Papua New Guinea and the Fiji islands have been named. The reason for this nomenclature is because the spines on their backs reminded researchers of the famous dragons from Game of Thrones. The work has been published in the magazine PloS One.
The genus Pheidole has more than 1,000 species distributed throughout the world and, in general, worker ants tend to have a much larger jaw and head compared to their body. In this case, the enormous and characteristic spines of these two new species were discovered thanks to the use of a new 3D imaging technique that allows the creation of digitized samples, that is, microtomography.
Thus, instead of using the classic taxonomy (with photographs, drawings and descriptions), the scientists used to identify and name them the X-ray microtomography that allows producing a much higher resolution of objects as small as in this case a pair of ants.
“This is one of the first studies in taxonomy to use microtomography. Although this method is gaining popularity in different fields of science, its usefulness in taxonomy was unknown ”, explains Evan Economo, from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and co-author of the work.
Close examination of these images, coupled with traditional techniques to create a three-dimensional digitized sample of each of the discovered species , revealed that the interior of these ants is full of muscle fibers, suggesting that they could help them to bear the weight of their large heads.
“By digitizing the sample, you can download the virtual ant anywhere in the world, carry out the necessary measurements and explorations and compare it with the specimen you are trying to identify,” explains Georg Fischer, co-author of the study.
“With the sample, you can practically dissect the specimen and examine its internal structure ,” explains Economo.
