Amblyoponinae

Belongs within: Formicidae.

The Amblyoponinae are a group of ants mostly characterised by a relatively broad attachment of the petiole to the gaster, together with dentiform setae on the clypeus. These features are absent in the Afrotropical Apomyrma stygia which is nevertheless associated with the Amblyoponinae by molecular data. Most amblyoponines are cryptic predators in soil and leaf litter, and rarely seen on the surface of the ground.

Characters (from Heterick 2009): Dentiform clypeal setae present; waist consisting of a single segment, petiole broadly articulated to abdominal segment III; apex of abdomen with a sting.

<==Amblyoponinae [Amblyoponini]
    |--+--Apomyrma [Apomyrminae]RBV08
    |  |    `--A. stygiaRBV08
    |  `--+--Onychomyrmex Emery 1895RBV08, TB85
    |     |    |--*O. hedleyi Emery 1895TB85
    |     |    |--O. doddi Wheeler 1916TB85
    |     |    `--O. mjobergi Forel 1915TB85
    |     `--+--Concoctio concentaRBV08
    |        `--Prionopelta Mayr 1866RBV08, TB85
    |             |--*P. punctulata Mayr 1866TB85
    |             `--P. opaca Emery 1897TB85
    `--+--AdetomyrmaRBV08
       `--+--Mystrium Roger 1862RBV08, B03
          |    |--*M. mysticum Roger 1862TB85
          |    `--M. camillae Emery 1889E89
          `--Amblyopone Erichson 1842RBV08, FT08 (see below for synonymy)
               |--*A. australis Erichson 1842 (see below for synonymy)TB85
               |--A. aberrans Wheeler 1927 [=A. (*Protamblyopone) aberrans]TB85
               |--A. cephalotesV73
               |--A. clarki Wheeler 1927 [=A. (*Neoamblyopone) clarki]TB85
               |--A. eminia Zhou 2001Z01
               |--A. exigua Clark 1928TB85
               |--A. ferruginea Smith 1858 [incl. A. mandibularis Clark 1928]TB85
               |--A. fulvida Terayama 1987I92
               |--A. gingivalis Brown 1960TB85
               |--A. glauerti (Clark 1928) [=*Lithomyrmex glauerti]TB85
               |--A. gracilis Clark 1934 [=A. (Fulakora) gracilis]TB85
               |--A. hackeri Wheeler 1927TB85
               |--A. leae Wheeler 1927TB85
               |--A. longidens Forel 1910TB85
               |--A. lucida Clark 1934TB85
               |--A. mercovichi Brown 1960TB85
               |--A. michaelseni Forel 1907TB85
               |--A. muticaRBV08
               |--A. nana Emery 1914E14
               |--A. pallipesRBV08
               |--A. punctulata Clark 1934 [=A. (Fulakora) punctulata]TB85
               |--A. rubiginousZ01
               |--A. smithi Brown 1960TB85
               |--A. wilsoni Clark 1928TB85
               `--A. zwaluwenburgi (Williams 1946)FT08

Amblyopone Erichson 1842^{RBV08, FT08} [=Amblyopopone Forel 1893^Z01; incl. Arotropus Provancher 1887^Z01, Ericapelta Kusnezov 1955^Z01, Lithomyrmex Clark 1928^TB85, Neoamblyopone Wheeler 1927^TB85, Paraprionopelta Brown 1973^Z01, Protamblyopone Wheeler 1927^TB85]

*Amblyopone australis Erichson 1842 [incl. A. aberrans fortis Forel 1910, A. australis foveolata Wheeler 1927, A. australis minor Forel 1915, A. obscura Smith 1858]^TB85

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

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

[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, Heft IV 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.

[I92] Iwahashi, J. (ed.) 1992. Reddo Deeta Animaruzu: a pictorial of Japanese fauna facing extinction. JICC: Tokyo.

[RBV08] Rabeling, C., J. M. Brown & M. Verhaagh. 2008. Newly discovered sister lineage sheds light on early ant evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 105 (39): 14913–14917.

[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.

[V73] Vandel, A. 1973. Les isopodes terrestres de l’Australie. Étude systématique et biogéographique. Mémoires du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Série A, Zoologie 82: 1–171.

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