The 'ManhattAnt' was first described in 2012 when biologists stumbled across them in the Big Apple.
ANTS – these sugar-loving, sometimes pesky insects are found almost everywhere on planet Earth. With over 13,000 known species of ants, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has never seen one of these creepy crawlies.
However, is it true that there is a unique species of ant found only in Manhattan, New York?
Verdict:
True
In 2011, biologist Rob Dunn stumbled upon a never-seen-before species of ant living exclusively between 63rd and 76th streets along Broadway on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
"It’s a relative of the cornfield ant, and it looks like it’s from Europe, but we can’t match it up with any of the (existing) species," Dunn told the New York Post.
Dunn noted that the Manhattan ants differed from their European cousin, L. emarginatus, in that they had higher levels of carbon in their bodies, a change he attributes to the ants’ high corn-syrup diet.
These city ants have even been given a nickname: the ManhattAnt. Whether it will be given an official scientific name remains to be seen.
Researchers are now encouraging New Yorkers to submit ManhattAnt sightings, crowdsourcing information on the species’ whereabouts and behaviours. According to Project ManhattAnt, the New York local has a reddish-orange body with a dark brown head and backside.
According to Smithsonian, the ManhattAnt is not New York’s first endemic animal species. The state also boasts its own unique species of centipede, sweat bee, and white-footed mouse, all of which are genetically unique from their relatives outside the city.
Scientists postulate that the city-dwelling animals deviated from common lineages after being cut off from others of their kind, outside of their natural habitats.
Much like how the Galapagos finches observed by Charles Darwin displayed wide variations in beak morphology to suit different functions, the animal residents of New York appear to have evolved in adaptation to the urban jungle. Over time, they have become genetically unique enough to be classified as entirely new species.
Now, we excitedly await the discovery of a MalaysiAnt!
References:
1. https://www.smithsonianmag.
2. https://nypost.com/2012/09/
3. https://www.nytimes.com/
4. https://www.thrillist.com/
5. https://blog.
