from these ants is among the most toxic in the insect world. In Tasmania, 3% of the human population are allergic to the venom of M. pilosula and can suffer life-threatening anaphylactic reactions if stung. People prone to severe allergic reactions can be treated with allergen immunotherapy (desensitisation). Etymology and common names The generic name Myrmecia derives from Greek word Myrmec- (+ -ia), meaning "ant". In Western Australia, the Indigenous Australians called these ants kallili or killal. Ants of this genus are popularly known as bulldog ants, bull ants, or jack jumper ants due to their ferocity and the way they hang off their victims using their mandibles, and also due to the jumping behaviour displayed by some species. Other common names include "inch ants", "sergeant ants", and "soldier ants". The jack jumper ant and other members of the Myrmecia pilosula species group are commonly known as "black jumpers", "hopper ants", "jumper ants", "jumping ants", "jumping jacks", and "skipper ants". Taxonomy and evolution Genetic evidence suggests that Myrmecia diverged from related groups about 100 million years ago (Mya). The subfamily Myrmeciinae, to which Myrmecia belongs, is believed to have been found in the fossil record of 110 Mya ago. However, one study suggests that the age of the most recent common ancestor for Myrmecia and Nothomyrmecia is 74 Mya, and the subfamily is possibly younger than previously thought. Ants of the extinct genus Archimyrmex may possibly be the ancestor of Myrmecia. In the Evans' vespoid scala, Myrmecia and other primitive ant genera such as Amblyopone and Nothomyrmecia exhibit behavior which is similar to a clade of soil-dwelling families of vespoid wasps. Four species groups form a paraphyletic assemblage while five species groups form a monophyletic assemblage. The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships within Myrmecia: Classification Myrmecia was first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in his 1804 publication Systema Piezatorum, in which seven species from the genus Formica were placed into the genus along with the description of four new species. Myrmecia has been classified into numerous families and subfamilies; in 1858, British entomologist Frederick Smith placed it in the family Poneridae, subfamily Myrmicidae. It was placed in the subfamily Ponerinae by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. This classification was short-lived as Mayr reclassified the genus into the subfamily Myrmicinae three years later. In 1877, Italian entomologist Carlo Emery classified the genus into the newly established subfamily