Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: What is the largest type of ant?
"Dinoponera" contains one of the largest species of ants in the world, with female "Dinoponera gigantea" specimens measuring in length. Size is the most obvious character distinguishing "Dinoponera" from other genera. The only other ants with a worker caste approaching this size are "Paraponera clavata" (the bullet ant) and the larger "Pachycondyla" such as "P. crassinoda", "P. impressa" and "P. villosa". "Paraponera clavata" is easily separated by its anvil-shaped petiole with a spine on the ventral surface, highly sculptured body and deep antennal scrobes. "Pachycondyla" is regarded as the sister taxa to "Dinoponera". "Dinoponera", in addition to their size, are distinguishable from "Pachycondyla" by the presence of two laterally projecting clypeal teeth and rows of spines on the pygidium and hypopygidium.
The largest living snakes in the world, measured either by length or by weight, are various members of the Boidae and Pythonidae families. They include anacondas, pythons, and boa constrictors, which are all non-venomous constrictors. The longest "venomous" snake, with a length up to , is the king cobra, and the heaviest venomous snake is likely to be the Gaboon viper (which also has the longest fangs and delivers the largest amount of venom) or possibly the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake – all three of which reach maximum weights in the range of .
The Permian era "Cotylorhynchus", from what is now the southern United States, probably was the largest of all synapsids (most of which became extinct 250 million years ago), at and 2 tonnes. The largest carnivorous synapsid was "Anteosaurus" from what is now South Africa during Middle Permian era. "Anteosaurus" was long, and weighed about .The largest living reptile, a representative of the order Crocodilia, is the saltwater crocodile ("Crocodylus porosus") of Southern Asia and Australia, with adult males being typically long. The largest confirmed saltwater crocodile on record was long, and weighed about . Unconfirmed reports of much larger crocodiles exist, but examinations of incomplete remains have never suggested a length greater than . Also, a living specimen estimated at and has been accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records. However, due to the difficulty of trapping and measuring a very large living crocodile, the accuracy of these dimensions has yet to be verified. A specimen named Lolong caught alive in the Philippines in 2011 (died February 2013) was found to have measured in length.
Wasps first appeared in the fossil record in the Jurassic, and diversified into many surviving superfamilies by the Cretaceous. They are a successful and diverse group of insects with tens of thousands of described species; wasps have spread to all parts of the world except for the polar regions. The largest social wasp is the Asian giant hornet, at up to in length; among the largest solitary wasps is a group of species known as tarantula hawks, along with the giant scoliid of Indonesia ("Megascolia procer"). The smallest wasps are solitary chalcid wasps in the family Mymaridae, including the world's smallest known insect, with a body length of only , and the smallest known flying insect, only long.
The heaviest known cephalopod, and the largest living invertebrate, is the colossal squid. The largest recorded specimen of this species, caught in the Ross Sea in 2007, weighed . However, its beak is not the largest known from this species; even bigger colossal squid beaks have been recovered from the stomachs of sperm whales, indicating that this species can grow larger still.
The giant hutias are an extinct group of large rodents known from fossil and subfossil material in the West Indies. One species, "Amblyrhiza inundata", is estimated to have weighed between , big specimens being as large as an American black bear. This is twice as large as the capybara, the largest rodent living today, but still much smaller than "Josephoartigasia monesi", the largest rodent known. These animals were probably used as a food source by aboriginal humans. All giant hutias are in a single family, Heptaxodontidae, which contains no living species; this grouping seems to be paraphyletic and artificial, however.
The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark, and was in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At and up to , the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird, though the extinct elephant bird and some dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). Some eggs laid by reptiles and most fish, amphibians, insects and other invertebrates can be even smaller.
"Dimetrodon" was a quadrupedal, sail-backed synapsid. Most "Dimetrodon" species ranged in length from and are estimated to have weighed between . The largest known species of "Dimetrodon" is "D. angelensis" at and the smallest is "D. teutonis" at . The larger species of "Dimetrodon" were among the largest predators of the Early Permian, although the closely related "Tappenosaurus", known from skeletal fragments in slightly younger rocks, may have been even larger at an estimated in total body length. Although some "Dimetrodon" species could grow very large, many juvenile specimens are known.
Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species of South American caviomorph rodent, is the largest rodent known, and lived from about 4 to 2 million years ago during the Pliocene to early Pleistocene. The species is one of two in the genus "Josephoartigasia", the other being "J. magna". "J. monesi" is sometimes called the giant pacarana, after its closest living relative, the pacarana ("Dinomys branickii") in the family Dinomyidae. The species may have weighed a ton, considerably larger than any living rodent.
The little fire ant has been unintentionally transported from its native range to Africa, North America, Puerto Rico, Israel, Cuba, and multiple Pacific Island groups. Invading ants cannot survive in global regions that have cold environments. But, little fire ants are found in Canada and England where they find refuge in large human infrastructure and greenhouses. Human disturbed landscapes – such as the practice of monocultures, and the deforestation of land – have caused an explosion in the little fire ant population in regions of Brazil and Colombia. These regions have a prevalence of cocoa farms and sugarcane monocultures. In Colombia, research shows that high abundance little fire ant populations reduce other ant diversity in heavily deforested regions.
Fire ants are especially detrimental to the Karst ecosystem, although the main threat to the species is loss of habitat to urban development. The fire ant is an aggressive predator and it has devastating and long lasting impacts on native ant and arthropod communities. The shallow caves makes "Texella reddelli" vulnerable to invasion by fire ants and other exotic species. Fire ants have been found in over 50% of the caves that are known to contain endangered species in this ecosystem. Even if the fire ants do not always directly prey upon the "Texella reddelli", their presence can have a negative effect on the ecosystem and species that are critical in the food chain.
The heaviest beetle, indeed the heaviest insect stage, is the larva of the goliath beetle, "Goliathus goliatus", which can attain a mass of at least and a length of . Adult male goliath beetles are the heaviest beetle in its adult stage, weighing and measuring up to . Adult elephant beetles, "Megasoma elephas" and "Megasoma actaeon" often reach and .
Toxorhynchites, also called elephant mosquito or mosquito eater, is a genus of diurnal and often relatively colorful mosquitoes, found worldwide between about 35° north and 35° south. It includes the largest known species of mosquito, at up to in length and in wingspan. It is among the many kinds of mosquito that do not consume blood. The adults subsist on carbohydrate-rich materials, such as honeydew, or saps and juices from damaged plants, refuse, fruit, and nectar.
The largest recorded specimen was captured in 2007 by a New Zealand fishing boat off Antarctica. It was initially estimated to measure in length and weigh . The squid was taken back to New Zealand for scientific study. A study on the specimen later showed its actual weight was , but it only measured in total length as a result of the tentacles' shrinking "post mortem".
There are many research stations in Antarctica, both permanent and summer only. Many of the stations are staffed all year. McMurdo Station is the largest with an average population of 1200.
The largest land mammal extant today is the African bush elephant. The largest extinct land mammal known was long considered to be "Paraceratherium orgosensis", a rhinoceros relative thought to have stood up to tall, measured over long and may have weighed about 17 tonnes. In 2015, a study suggested that one example of the proboscidean "Palaeoloxodon namadicus" may have been the largest land mammal ever, based on extensive research of fragmentary leg bone fossils from one individual, with a maximum estimated size of 22 tonnes.
There are over 100 species of birds, of which ten are endemic. Many birds are passing vagrants, such as the great cormorant ("Phalacrocorax carbo"). Others, like the lesser frigatebird ("Fregata ariel"), are more regular visitors. Bird populations are threatened due to the invasive yellow crazy ant, and reports have suggested that the ant has attacked hatchlings and harassed adults in their nests. All endemic bird species have been placed on the critically endangered list.
Superb fairywrens are predominantly insectivorous. They eat a wide range of small creatures (mostly insects such as ants, grasshoppers, shield bugs, flies, weevils and various larvae) as well as small quantities of seeds, flowers, and fruit. Their foraging, termed 'hop-searching', occurs on the ground or in shrubs that are less than two metres high. Because this foraging practice renders them vulnerable to predators, birds tend to stick fairly close to cover and forage in groups. During winter, when food may be scarce, ants are an important 'last resort' food, constituting a much higher proportion of the diet. Nestlings, in contrast to adult birds, are fed a diet of larger items such as caterpillars and grasshoppers.
A herbivore, the royal antelope prefers small quantities of fresh foliage and shoots; fruits and fungi may be taken occasionally. Though the antelope is considered to be nocturnal, zoologist Jonathan Kingdon holds that feeding occurs throughout the day, though some foraging may also be observed at night. In comparison to Bates's pygmy antelope, the royal antelope has a longer muzzle, broader lips, a smaller mouth and smaller cheek muscles. These features do not allow complete digestion of lignified growth. Individuals may often move into new locations foraging for fresh growth.
Common insects that prey on wasps include praying mantises, dragonflies, centipedes, beetles and moths. In fact, large wasps will even prey on smaller wasps. Spiders will also capture wasps in their webs and eat them. Predatory reptiles and amphibians, such as frogs, lizards, toads, and salamanders see the wasp as just another opportunistic meal and do not differentiate them from other insects, despite their feared sting. Birds that regularly consume bugs will also eat wasps. Other creatures that eat wasps, particularly mammals, are more interested in the larvae rather than the adults.
Megadolomedes is a genus of spider in the family Pisauridae. The genus contains only one species, Megadolomedes australianus, commonly known as the giant water spider. It is one of Australia's largest spiders, with a legspan of up to 18 cm. Found near creeks and ponds, it is capable of running on water. Food includes small fish, tadpoles and aquatic insects. Air is trapped on body and leg hair, allowing them to stay underwater for long periods of time.
A mature leafcutter colony can contain more than 8 million ants (the maximum size of the colony varies between species), mostly sterile female workers. They are divided into castes, based mostly on size, that perform different functions. "Acromyrmex" ants exhibit a high degree of biological polymorphism, four castes being present in established colonies - minims (or "garden ants"), minors, mediae, and majors. Majors are also known as soldiers or dinergates. Each caste has a specific function within the colony. "Acromyrmex" ants are less polymorphic than the other genus of leafcutter ants "Atta", meaning comparatively less difference in size exists from the smallest to largest types of "Acromymex". The high degree of polymorphism in this genus is also suggestive of its high degree of advancement.
"Myrmecia" ants are easily noticeable, due to their large mandibles, and large compound eyes that provide excellent vision, and a powerful sting that they use to kill prey. Each of their eyes contains 3,000 facets, making them the second largest in the ant world. Size varies widely, ranging from in length. The largest "Myrmecia" species is "M. brevinoda", with workers measuring ; "M. brevinoda" workers are also the largest in the world. Almost all species are monomorphic, but "M. brevinoda" is the only known species where polymorphism exists. It is well known that two worker subcastes exist, but this does not distinguish them as two different polymorphic forms. This may be due to the lack of food during winter and they could be incipient colonies. The division of labour is based on the size of ant, rather than its age, with the larger workers foraging for food or keeping guard outside the nest, while the smaller workers tend to the brood.
Most ants are generalist predators, scavengers, and indirect herbivores, but a few have evolved specialised ways of obtaining nutrition. It is believed that many ant species that engage in indirect herbivory rely on specialized symbiosis with their gut microbes to upgrade the nutritional value of the food they collect and allow them to survive in nitrogen poor regions, such as rainforest canopies. Leafcutter ants ("Atta" and "Acromyrmex") feed exclusively on a fungus that grows only within their colonies. They continually collect leaves which are taken to the colony, cut into tiny pieces and placed in fungal gardens. Ergates specialise in related tasks according to their sizes. The largest ants cut stalks, smaller workers chew the leaves and the smallest tend the fungus. Leafcutter ants are sensitive enough to recognise the reaction of the fungus to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is found to be toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The ants feed on structures produced by the fungi called "gongylidia". Symbiotic bacteria on the exterior surface of the ants produce antibiotics that kill bacteria introduced into the nest that may harm the fungi.
Worker ants have been known to measure 3.7 cm (1.5 in) in total length, while queens can exceed 4.0 cm (1.6 in) in length, making them one of the largest type of bull ant in Australia and in the world. Most of their body is dark red, with the exception of the bulbous part of their abdomen being black.