Pleistodontes xanthocephalus
Encyclopedia
Pleistodontes xanthocephalus is a species of fig wasp
which is native to Australia
. It has an obligate
mutualism with Ficus obliqua
, the fig species it pollinates
.
Fig wasp
Fig wasps are wasps of the family Agaonidae which pollinate figs or are otherwise associated with figs, a coevolutional relationship that has been developing for at least 80 million years...
which is native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It has an obligate
Obligate
Obligate means "by necessity" and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as:* Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen* Obligate anaerobe, an organism that cannot survive in the presence of oxygen...
mutualism with Ficus obliqua
Ficus obliqua
Ficus obliqua, commonly known as the Small-leaved Fig, a tree in the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia. It is a banyan of the genus Ficus which contains around 750 species worldwide in warm climates, including the edible fig...
, the fig species it pollinates
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
.