Ponera Latreille 1804
Creators: name: Eguchi, Katsuyuki
name: Viet, Bui Tuan
name: Yamane, Seiki
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Ponera

description: Ponera Latreille, 1804
Taxonomy. The genus Ponera is assigned to the tribe Ponerini (Bolton 2003).
Morphology. Workers of Vietnamese species have the following features (see also Schmidt & Shattuck 2014):
Worker monomorphic; head in full-face view subrectangular; frontal lobes horizontal, separated from each other by a longitudinal sulcus; antennal scrobe absent; anteromedian margin of clypeus convex; mandible subtriangular; its distinct apical tooth followed by a series of small teeth or serrate margin; basal portion of mandible without a distinct circular or near-circular pit or fovea dorsolaterally; antenna 12-segmented, gradually incrassate from segment III to XII; eye present, but often reduced (consisting of one or a few ommatidia); eye located on side of head close to mandibular insertion; mesosoma in lateral view with a flat or weakly arched dorsal outline; promesonotal suture completely separating pronotum from mesonotum; mesopleuron hardly demarcated from mesonotum by a suture, and weakly from metapleuron by a suture; metanotal groove absent or present dorsally as a weak transverse sulcus; propodeum unarmed; orifice of propodeal spiracle oval; propodeal lobe indistinct; outer surface of middle tibia with fine normal pilosity only; apicoventral part of foretibia often with a thin, simple spur behind a large pectinate spur; apicoventral part of mid and hind tibia with a single pectinate spur; petiole without anterior peduncle; petiolar node in lateral view high; subpetiolar process developed well as a lobe, anteriorly with a conspicuous round depression, posteroventrally with a pair of acute angles; girdling constriction between abdominal segments III and IV relatively distinct; abdominal sternite III with an U-shaped anteroventral ridge below helcium; sting well developed.
Differentiation. The worker of Ponera is in general appearance most similar to that of Hypoponera and Cryptopone, but in the latter two genera the subpetiolar process lacks an anterior round depression and a pair of posterolateral angles. Furthermore, in the worker of Cryptopone, the basal portion of mandible has a distinct circular or near-circular pit or fovea dorsolaterally, and the outer surface of midtibia bears thickened peg-like setae mixed with finer normal pilosity. The worker of Ponera is also similar to that of Parvaponera, but in the latter the apex of metatibia ventrally has a simple spur in front of a large pectinate spur.
Vietnamese species (5 spp.).
P. sp. eg-1 [= sp. 17 of SKY in Yamane et al. (2003)] (Chua Yen Tu, Cuc Phuong, Pu Mat, Sa Pa, Tay Yen Tu, Van Ban). P. sp. eg-2 (Pu Mat, Tay Yen Tu, Van Ban).
P. sp. eg-3 (Ba Vi, Tay Yen Tu, Van Ban).
P. eg-4 [cf. kohmoku Terayama, 1996] (Chua Yen Tu, Tam Dao).
P. sp. eg-5 [= sp. 28 of SKY in Yamane et al. (2003)] (Cuc Phuong, Sa Pa).
Bionomics. Ponera spp. usually occur in well-developed forests and other wooded habitats. They nest in rotting log and wood fragments, and in litter and soil.
description: Published as part of Eguchi, Katsuyuki, Viet, Bui Tuan & Yamane, Seiki, 2014, Generic Synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Part II — Cerapachyinae, Aenictinae, Dorylinae, Leptanillinae, Amblyoponinae, Ponerinae, Ectatomminae and Proceratiinae, pp. 1-46 in Zootaxa 3860 (1) on pages 39-40, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3860.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/287059