Pristomyrmex

Distribution and habitat

The genus is composed of 59 extant species restricted to the Old World tropics and a single extinct species, Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni, described from Scandinavian amber. Its center of diversity is the Oriental region, though species are also known from the Australian rainforests, Africa, Mauritius and Réunion. Most of the species inhabit the rainforest, forage as predators or scavengers, and tend to nest in soil, leaf litter or rotten wood.