Thaumatomyrmex
| Thaumatomyrmex | |
|---|---|
| Thaumatomyrmex atrox worker from Peru | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ponerinae |
| Tribe: | Ponerini |
| Genus: | Thaumatomyrmex Mayr, 1887 |
| Type species | |
| Thaumatomyrmex mutilatus Mayr, 1887 | |
| Diversity | |
| 12 species | |
Thaumatomyrmex is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae, found from Mexico to Brazil. They are notable for their pitchfork-shaped mandibles, which they use to capture millipedes of the order Polyxenida. The genus is a specialist predator of polyxenids, and one of only two ant genera known to prey upon polyxenids.