Despite the ecological significance of ants and the intensive research attention they have received, thorough treatments of the anatomy and functional morphology are still scarce. In this study we document the head morphology of workers of the myrmicine Wasmannia affinis with optical microscopy, μ-computed tomography, scanning electron microscopy, and 3D reconstruction, providing the first complete anatomical treatment of an ant head with a broad array of modern techniques. We discuss the potential of the applied methods to generate detailed and well-documented morphological data sets with increased efficiency. We also address homology problems, particularly in the context of the cephalic digestive tract. According to our analyses the "pharynx" of previous ant studies is homologous to the prepharynx of other insects. We also discuss the phylogenetic potential and functional significance of the observed characters, with internal features such as tentorium and musculature discussed for the first time. Our investigation underlines that detailed anatomical data for Formicidae are still very fragmentary, which in turn limits our understanding of the major design elements underlying the ant bauplan. We attempt to provide a template for further anatomical studies, which will help to understand the evolution of this fascinating group on the phenotypic level.

中文翻译：

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蚂蚁物种Wasmannia affinis（甲虫，膜翅目，昆虫纲）的工人的头部解剖结构及其进化意义。

尽管蚂蚁具有生态学意义并受到了广泛的研究关注，但仍缺乏对解剖学和功能形态的彻底治疗。在这项研究中，我们使用光学显微镜，μ计算机断层扫描，扫描电子显微镜和3D重建技术记录了Mysmicmic Wasmannia affinis工人的头部形态，为蚂蚁头部提供了首个完整的解剖学治疗方法。我们讨论了应用方法的潜力，以提高效率来生成详细且有据可查的形态数据集。我们还解决同源性问题，尤其是在头消化道的情况下。根据我们的分析，先前蚂蚁研究的“咽”与其他昆虫的咽是同源的。我们还讨论了观察到的字符的系统发生潜力和功能意义，首次讨论了内部特性，例如ten和肌肉组织。我们的调查强调，有关甲虫的详细解剖数据仍然非常零碎，这反过来又限制了我们对蚂蚁包兰的主要设计元素的理解。我们试图为进一步的解剖学研究提供模板，这将有助于在表型水平上理解这个迷人的群体的进化。反过来又限制了我们对蚂蚁包普兰背后主要设计元素的理解。我们试图为进一步的解剖学研究提供模板，这将有助于在表型水平上理解这个迷人的群体的进化。反过来又限制了我们对蚂蚁包普兰背后主要设计元素的理解。我们试图为进一步的解剖学研究提供模板，这将有助于在表型水平上理解这个迷人的群体的进化。