About 40 new species of ants have been discovered in the Philippines, ant researcher David General and his colleagues recently announced.
The previously unknown species belong to 11 different genera, the taxonomic classification above species. That brings the total genera (the plural of genus) found in the country to 92, which is nearly a third of the total described worldwide.
The unique features of the new genera are pretty subtle; to a nonspecialist, the animals probably look the same as other known ants. General's favorite new ant has a unique mouth, with mandibles that are extended on stems. "Because ants use their mandibles as 'hands' to manipulate their environment, this is an important adaptation," he said.
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