Ponerinae

Platythyrea cribrinodis, copyright Benjamin Kalyatta.

Belongs within: Formicidae.
Contains: Ponera, Leptogenys, Pachycondyla, Anochetus, Odontomachus, Hypoponera.

The Ponerinae are a group of stinging ants in which the antennal toruli (sockets) have become fused to the frontal lobe. The outer margins of the frontal lobe are convergent posteriad in genera other than Platythyrea; Platythyrea also differs from other ponerines in having a broad clypeal insertion and pectinate meso- and metatibial spurs (this last character being present in a small number of Leptogenys and Pachycondyla species), and so is placed in a separate tribe from the others (Heterick 2009). Past authors have recognised the 'Ponerinae' as encompassing a broad range of unspecialised ants, but the Ponerinae in this sense is now recognised as polyphyletic, and various genera have been removed to subfamilies such as Ectatomminae, Heteroponerinae and Amblyoponinae.

Characters (from Heterick 2009): Torulus of antenna completely fused to frontal lobe; frontal lobes rounded or triangular, with a decidedly 'pinched-in' appearance posteriorly in full-face view; anterior clypeal margin without lamellate rim; head capsule without median longitudinal carina; promesonotal suture fully developed, so pronotum and mesonotum capable of independent movement; apex of abdomen with a sting.

<==Ponerinae
    |--Platythyrea Roger 1863 FT08 [incl. Eubothroponera Clark 1930 TB85; Platythyreini H09]
    |    |--*P. punctata (Smith 1858) [=Pachycondyla punctata] TB85
    |    |--P. brunnipes (Clark 1938) [=Eubothroponera brunnipes] TB85
    |    |--P. cribrinodis A61
    |    |--P. dentinodis (Clark 1930) [=*Eubothroponera dentinodis] TB85
    |    |--P. fricuspidata N-ZLI11
    |    |--P. micans (Clark 1930) [=Eubothroponera micans] TB85
    |    |--P. mocquerysi BS06
    |    |--P. parallela (Smith 1859) FT08 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--P. sagei Forel 1900 B03
    |    |--P. turneri Forel 1895 (see below for synonymy) TB85
    |    |--P. victoriae Forel 1900 B03
    |    `--P. wroughtoni Forel 1900 B03
    `--Ponerini H09
         |  i. s.: Ponera H09
         |         Myopias Roger 1861 H09, TB85
         |           |--*M. amblyops Roger 1861 TB85
         |           `--M. tasmaniensis Wheeler 1923 [incl. Trapeziopelta diadela Clark 1934] TB85
         |         Cryptopone Emery 1893 H09, T99
         |           |--*C. testacea Emery 1893 T99 [=Amblypone testacea TB85]
         |           |--C. gilva [=Euponera gilva] WW90
         |           |--C. jinxiuensis Zhou 2001 Z01
         |           |--C. pseudogigas Zhou & Zheng 1997 Z01
         |           |--C. rotundiceps (Emery 1914) (see below for synonymy) TB85
         |           |--C. sauteri (Wheeler 1906) (see below for synonymy) Z01
         |           `--C. tengu Terayama 1999 T99
         |--+--Leptogenys BS06
         |  `--+--Pachycondyla BS06
         |     `--+--Anochetus BS06
         |        `--+--Odontomachus BS06
         |           `--Odontoponera Mayr 1862 BS06, B03
         |                `--*O. transversa (Smith 1857) Z01 (see below for synonymy)
         `--+--+--Simopelta pergandei BS06
            |  `--Thaumatomyrmex atrox BS06
            `--+--Hypoponera BS06
               `--+--Centromyrmex Mayr 1866 BS06, B03 (see below for synonymy)
                  |    |--*C. bohemanni Mayr 1866 Z01
                  |    |--C. feae Emery 1889 B03 (see below for synonymy)
                  |    `--C. sellaris BS06
                  `--+--Psalidomyrmex procerus BS06
                     `--+--Loboponera politula BS06
                        `--Plectroctena ugandensis BS06

Ponerinae incertae sedis:
  Megaponera foetens H79
  Euponera Forel 1891 E14, TB85
    `--E. ochracea E14
  Prionogenys Emery 1895 TB85
    |--*P. podenzanai Emery 1895 TB85
    |    |--P. p. podenzanai TB85
    |    `--P. p. malandensis Forel 1915 TB85
    `--P. rouxi Emery 1914 E14
  Sysphincta WW90
  Diacamma Mayr 1862 TB85
    |--*D. rugosum (Le Guillou 1841) Z01 (see below for synonymy)
    |--D. assamense Forel 1900 B03
    |--D. australe (Fabricius 1775) (see below for synonymy) TB85
    |--D. ceylonense Emery 1897 B03
    |--D. cyaneiventre André 1887 [=D. rugosum cyaniventre] B03
    |--D. longitudinale Emery 1889 E89
    |--D. scalptratum (Smith 1858) [=Ponera scalptrata] B03
    `--D. sculptum (Jerdon 1851) [=Ponera sculpta] B03
  Myopopone Roger 1861 TB85
    |--M. castanea (Smith 1860) TB85 (see below for synonymy)
    `--M. moelleri Bingham 1903 B03
  Stigmatomma Roger 1859 non Körb. 1855 (ICBN) B03
    |--*S. denticulatum B03
    |--S. belli (Forel 1900) [=Amblyopone belli] B03
    |--S. feae Emery 1894 [=Amblyopone feae] B03
    |--S. oregonense JB13
    `--S. rothneyi (Forel 1900) [=Amblyopone rothneyi] B03
  Harpegnathos Jerdon 1851 [=Drepanognathus Smith 1858, Harpegnathus (l. c.)] D37
    |--*H. saltator Jerdon 1851 Z01 (see below for synonymy)
    |--H. hobbyi Donisthorpe 1937 D37
    |--H. macgregori Wheeler & Chapman 1925 D37
    |--H. pallipes (Smith 1858) [=Ponera pallipes] D37
    `--H. venator (Smith 1858) B03 (see below for synonymy)
  Eogorgites Hong 2002 H02
    `--*E. cingulatus Hong 2002 H02
  Furcisutura Hong 2002 H02
    `--*F. wanghuacunensis Hong 2002 H02
  Eoponerites Hong 2002 H02
    `--*E. longipetiolatus Hong 2002 H02
  Longicapitia Hong 2002 H02
    `--*L. reticulata Hong 2002 H02

Centromyrmex Mayr 1866 BS06, B03 [incl. Glyphopone Forel 1913 Z01, Leptopone Arnold 1916 Z01, Promyopias Santschi 1914 Z01, Spalacomyrmex Emery 1889 B03, Typhloteras Karavaiev 1925 Z01]

Centromyrmex feae Emery 1889 B03 [=*Spalacomyrmex feae E89; incl. C. feae var. ceylonicus B03, C. donsthorpes Menozzi 1925 Z01]

Cryptopone rotundiceps (Emery 1914) [=Euponera (Trachymesopus) rotundiceps; incl. Ponera mjobegi Forel 1915] TB85

Cryptopone sauteri (Wheeler 1906) [=Pachycondyla (Pseudoponera) sauteri, Euponera (Trachymesopus) sauteri] Z01

Diacamma australe (Fabricius 1775) [=Formica australis; incl. D. australe colosseensis Forel 1915, D. australe levis Crawley 1915] TB85

*Diacamma rugosum (Le Guillou 1841) Z01 [=Ponera rugosa TB85; incl. D. vagans var. burmanum B03, D. rugosum sculpturatum var. divergens Emery 1897 Z01, D. rugosum geminatum Emery 1897 Z01, Ponera geometrica Smith 1857 Z01, D. geometricum B03, D. rugosum var. indica Santschi 1920 Z01, D. rugosum japensis Donisthorpe 1941 Z01, D. rugosum sculpturatum var. macreta Viehmeyer 1912 Z01, D. vagans var. papuanum Stitz 1911 Z01, D. rugosum st. sculpturatum var. pulchellum Santschi 1932 Z01, D. rugosum var. rothneyi B03, D. bispinosum var. saussurei Forel 1922 Z01, Ponera sculptuata Smith 1859 Z01, D. rugosum smithi Donisthorpe 1943 Z01, P. striata Smith 1860 Z01, P. vagans Smith 1860 Z01, Diacamma vagans B03, P. versicolor Smith 1857 Z01, D. versicolor B03]

*Harpegnathos saltator Jerdon 1851 Z01 [=*Drepanognathus saltator B03; incl. D. cruentatus Smith 1858 B03, Harpegnathos saltator var. cruentatus D37, H. saltator var. taprobanae Forel 1909 D37]

Harpegnathos venator (Smith 1858) B03 [=Drepanognathus venator B03; incl. H. venator var. chapmani Donisthorpe 1937 D37, H. venator var. rugosus Mayr 1862 D37]

Myopopone castanea (Smith 1860) TB85 [=Amblyopone castaneus TB85; incl. *M. maculata Roger 1861 TB85, M. rufula Roger 1861 B03]

*Odontoponera transversa (Smith 1857) Z01 [=Ponera transversa Z01; incl. P. denticulata Smith 1858 Z01, O. denticulata E89, P. reticulata Smith 1858 Z01]

Platythyrea parallela (Smith 1859) FT08 [=Ponera parallela TB85; incl. Pl. pusilla australis Forel 1915 TB85, Pl. cephalotes Viehmeyer 1924 TB85, Pl. parva Crawley 1915 TB85]

Platythyrea turneri Forel 1895 [incl. Eubothroponera bicolor Clark 1930, E. reticulata Clark 1934, E. septentrionalis Clark 1934, Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) tasmaniensis Forel 1913] TB85

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Andreae, H. 1961. Coleoptera: Cossyphodidae. In: Hanström, B., P. Brinck & G. Rudebeck (eds) South African Animal Life: Results of the Lund University Expedition in 1950–1951 vol. 8 pp. 198–216. Almqvist & Wiksell: Uppsala.

[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.

[BS06] Brady, S. G., T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher & P. S. Ward. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103 (48): 18172–18177.

[D37] Donisthorpe, H. 1937. A new species of Harpegnathos Jerd., with some remarks on the genus, and the other known species. (Hym. Formicidae). Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 73: 196–201.

[E89] Emery, C. 1889. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. XX.—Formiche di Birmania e del Tenasserim raccolte da Leonardo Fea (1885–87). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 485–520.

[E14] Emery, C. 1914. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie & des îles Loyalty. In: Sarasin, F. & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 393–436, pl. 12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[FT08] Framenau, V. W., & M. L. Thomas. 2008. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean): identification and distribution. Records of the Western Australian Museum 25 (1): 45–85.

[H09] Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1–206.

[H02] Hong Y. 2002. Amber Insect of China. Beijing Scientific and Technological Publishing House.

[H79] Howse, P. E. 1979. The uniqueness of insect societies: aspects of defense and integration. In: Larwood, G. & B. R. Rosen (eds) Biology and Systematics of Colonial Organisms pp. 345–374. Academic Press: London.

[JB13] Johnson, B. R., M. L. Borowiec, J. C. Chiu, E. K. Lee, J. Atallah & P. S. Ward. 2013. Phylogenomics resolves evolutionary relationships among ants, bees, and wasps. Current Biology 23: 2058–2062.

[N-ZLI11] Nur-Zati A. M., G. T. Lim & A. B. Idris. 2011. Checklist of ants of selected hill dipterocarp forests of peninsular Malaysia. Serangga 16 (1): 91–105.

[TB85] Taylor, R. W., & D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 1–149. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.

[T99] Terayama, M. 1999. Taxonomic studies of the Japanese Formicidae, part 4. Three new species of Ponerinae. Memoirs of the Myrmecological Society of Japan 1: 7–15.

[WW90] Wheeler, G. C., & J. Wheeler. 1990. Insecta: Hymenoptera Formicidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1277–1294. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).