Lower-fungus-farming ants (IMAGE)
Caption
A lower-fungus-farming worker of the rare fungus-farming ant species Mycetophylax asper, collected in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 2014, on its fungus garden.
Nearly 250 different species of ants in the Americas and Caribbean farm fungi. Researchers organize these ants into four agricultural systems based on their cultivation strategies.
In a paper published today, Oct. 3, in the journal Science, scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History analyzed genetic data from hundreds of species of fungi and ants to craft detailed evolutionary trees. According to the new study, colonies of ants began farming fungi when an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago. This impact caused a global mass extinction but also created ideal conditions for fungi to thrive. Innovative ants began cultivating the fungi, creating an evolutionary partnership that became even more tightly intertwined 27 million years ago and continues to this day.
Credit
Don Parsons.
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