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Cited by 34Insect and Arachnid Ecology and BehaviorComparative Animal Anatomy StudiesHymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 87 of the 87 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Skeletomuscular System of the Mesosoma of Formica rufa Workers (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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Aibekova, Lazzat, Boudinot, Brendon E, Georg Beutel, Rolf, Richter, Adrian, Keller, Roberto A, Hita-Garcia, Francisco, Economo, Evan P·2022·Insect Systematics and Diversity
DOI 10.1093/isd/ixac002
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Abstract

The mesosoma is the power core of the ant, containing critical structural and muscular elements for the movement of the head, legs, and metasoma. It has been hypothesized that adaptation to ground locomotion and the loss of flight led to the substantial rearrangements in the mesosoma in worker ants and that it is likely the ant mesosoma has undergone functional modifications as ants diversified into different ecological and behavioral niches. Despite this importance, studies on the anatomy of the ant mesosoma are still scarce, and there is limited understanding of important variation of internal structures across the ant phylogeny. Recent advances in imaging techniques have made it possible to digitally dissect small insects, to document the anatomy efficiently and in detail, and to visualize these data in 3D. Here we document the mesosomal skeletomuscular system of workers of the red wood ant, Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761, and use it to establish a 3D atlas of mesosomal anatomy that will serve as reference work for further studies. We discuss and illustrate the configuration of the skeletomuscular components and the function of the muscles in interaction with the skeletal elements. This anatomical evaluation of a ‘generalized’ ant provides a template for future studies of the mesosoma across the radiation of Formicidae, with the ultimate objective of synthesizing structural, functional, and transformational information to understand the evolution of a crucial body region of ants.

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Crossref · 10.1093/isd/ixac002

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  • Conventional laboratory micro-CT scanning of ants takes about 12 hours per scan on average.

    “scans of ants using conventional micro-CT would take about 12 hours each on average 45 , 46”

    From High-throughput phenomics of global ant biodiversity (2026) · cites this paper as [45]

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Research works printed but not linked: 24

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Metadata

Authors
Aibekova, L., Boudinot, B. E., Georg Beutel, R., Richter, A., Keller, R. A., Hita-Garcia, F., & Economo, E. P.
Affiliations
  • Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (JP)
  • Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
  • Institut für Zoologie und Evolutionsforschung, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
  • University of Lisbon (PT)
  • Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
Corresponding author
Aibekova, Lazzat
ORCID
Venue
Insect Systematics and Diversity
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2022-03-01
Volume
6
Issue
2
ISSN
2399-3421 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1093/isd/ixac002
OpenAlex
W4220836153
Cited by
34
References
87
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5
FWCI
3.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Insect Systematics and Diversity (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
  • DRYAD (public-domain)
Funders
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (21J20268, 17K15180, 18K14768, 21K06326)
  • Japan Ministry of the Environment
  • Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst eV.
  • Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anatomy › Comparative Animal Anatomy Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Hymenoptera taxonomy and phylogeny
Keywords
Formica rufa, mesosoma, worker ants, ants, muscle function, skeletal elements, terrestrial locomotion, digital dissection

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