W. M. Wheeler.
Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera.
Psyche 30(6):175-192, 1923.

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PSYCHE
VOL. XXX. DECEMBER 1923 No. 6
-- --
ANTS OF THE GENERA MYOPIAS AND
ACANTHOPONERA.1
A recent study of the Australian ants collected some years ago by Mr. A. M. Lee and myself has led me to revise the Pone- rine genera Myopias and Acanthoponera, two groups of more than usual interest on account of their singular geographical distribution. The former genus was established by Roger2 more than 60 years ago for a Ceylonese ant, M. umblyops, which has not been taken since, although considerable thorough collecting has been done in India and Ceylon. A second species was brought to light in New Guinea by L. Bir6 and described in 1901 by Emery as M. cribriceps3. A third species has now been discovered by Mr. Lea in Tasmania and is described in the sequel. The highly vestigial eyes in the workers of these ants show that they are subterranean in habit, but they must be extremely rare, since a total of only eleven specimens has been seen. Their recorded distribution is so discontinuous that we may regard them as vanishing relicts of forms very close to the direct ancestors of Trapeziopelta, a genus represented by a number of species in the East Indies and New Guinea.
The distribution of Acanthoponera is even more interesting. It comprises two species in Australia, one in New Zealand and five in the Neotropical Region, from Chile, Argentina and Brazil to Central America and Mexico. All the American species occur in the southern portion of the range and the forms in Central America and Mexico are merely small varieties or subspecies which have strayed beyond the optimum environ- Contributions from the Entorrological Laboratory of the Bussey Insti- tution, Harvard University, No. 230.
'Berlin. Entom. Zeitschr. 5, 1861, p. 39. aTerrneszetr. Fuzet. 25, 1901, p. 156.




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176 Psyche [~ecember
inent. The American forms, moreover, may be readily separated into two groups, one of which, including A. mucronata Roger, the type of the genus, and qoeldii Forel, have t'ridentate claws and long epinotal spines, while the other, including the re- maining species, carinifrons Mayr, dentinodis Mayr and dolo Roger, have, like the Aust'ralian forms, simple claws and a merely dentate epinotum. In my opinion, the latter group should be regarded as a distinct subgenus, for which I suggest the name Anacanthoponera subgen. nov., with Ponera dolo Roger as the type.
Few groups of ants resemble Acanthoponera in having an 'antarctic" distribution. Perhaps the best example is the subgenus Notoinyrmex of the genus Monomorium, which is represented by a number of species in Australia, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, New Zealand, a few in Patagonia and Chile and, according to Emery, also a few in Madagascar and East Africa. Mann's subgenus Fulakora, a group of species of the archaic genus Stigmatomma, with ap- proximated frontal carinse, may also be cited in this connection because it is represented in the East Indies', Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and Southern Brazil. The Chilean ants of the genus Lasiophanes, which are closely re- lated to those of the genus Prolasius in New Zealand and of Melophorus in Australia afford another example. I might also cite the singular little hypogseic Ponerine ants of the genus Discothyrea, of which a few species occur in the East Indies, one in New Zealand, one of a closely allied genus, Prodiscothyrea, in Australia, a species recently discovered by Bruch in Argentina, one in Kamerun, one in Columbia and one which was described by Roger in 1863 from "North America", but which has never been taken since. Apart from its occurrence in Africa, the distribution of this genus is not unlike that of Iridomyrmex, though the latter is represented by many species in Australia and is absent from New Zealand, though occurring on Norfolk Island, in the Neotropical Region and as far north as our southem states. When we consult the fossil record, however, we find that the two genera last mentioned were represented by species of Bradyponera and Iridomyriiex . . respectively in the Baltic amber



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1923-s of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera 177
and this suggests that they were cosmopolitan groups, possibly of northern origin, which now survive in the tropics and mainly in the southern hemisphere. I maintain, therefore, that the same explanation may account for the present peculiar and restricted distribution of Acanthoponera, Notomyrmex and Fulakora, since these, too, may have had a northern Eurasian origin during Cretaceous or early Tertiary times. Mann has recently discovered in Bolivia a species of the archaic Ponerine genus Probolomyrmex (P. boliviensis)l, previously known only from a species in South Africa (P. filiformis Mayr). These, too, in my opinion, may be isolated survivors of a group which had its origin in the northern hemisphere rather than on an antarctic land-mass or on a land-bridge between Africa and South America. Genus Myopias Roger
Myopias tasmaniensis sp. nov.
(Fig. 1.)
Worker. Length 3.8-4 mm.
Head subrectangular, as broad as long, slightly narrower behind than in front, with nearly st'raight sides and feebly, broadly concave posterior border. Eyes very small and flat, Fig. 1.
Myopias lasmaniensis sp. nov. worker.
a, head from above; 6, thorax and ab-
domen in profile.
situated more than their own length from tlhe posterior border of the clypeus, consisting of hardly more than 15 minute, crowded 1Psyche 30, 1923 p. 16, Fig. 2.




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178 Psyche [December
onunatidia. Mandibles long and narrow, convex and deflected, their external border straight in the middle, the apical border wit,h four teeth (counting the terminal), the most basal small, acute and erect, near the middle of the border, the next some- what larger and blunter and the preapical small and close to the terminal tooth. Clypeus very short, vertical, and transverse, above with a short, shelf-like, projecting, rectangular lobe im- mediately under the frontal carinse. The latter with prominent, closely approxin~ated lobes, their posterior continuations short and subparallel. Frontal groove deep and broad, extending back somewhat beyond the middle of the head. Antenna1 scapes reaching to within about twice the diameter of their tips from the posterior corners of the head; funiculi long, thickened distally, first joint about one and one-half times as long as broad, not as long as the three following joints together; these and the remaining joints, except the last, distinctly broader than long, the four terminal joints forming a distinct club. Thorax nar- rower than the head. with rather straight dorsal outline in profile, interrupted at the pronounced promesonotal and mesoepinotal sutures; pronotum broader than long, somewhat rounded above and on the sides; mesonotum transversely elliptical, nearly twice as broad as long; epinotum subcuboidal, the base straight and distinctly longer than the abrupt declivity with which it forms a rounded rectangle, the declivity flat, not marginate on the sides or above. Petiole subcuboidal, higher and somewhat broader than long, rounded above; in dorsal view trapezoidal, narrower in front than behind, with straight sides and very feebly concave anterior and posterior borders, its ventral surface anteriorly with a small, blunt, lamellate tooth. Postpetiole broader than long, nearly half again as broad as the petiole, truncated in front and marked off by a strong constriction from the broader and more rounded first gastric segment, which is about one and one-third times as broad as long. Remaining segments very small. Sting well-developed. Legs long and rather stout; middle and hind tibiae each with a well developed spur, the one on the hind tibise larger. Very smooth and shining; mandibles with a few scattered punctures; clypeus transversely rugulose; cheeks finely punc-



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19231 Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera T79 tate; upper surface of head, t,horax, petiole, postpetiole and first gastsric segment rather coarsely punctate, the punctures being smallest and most numerous on the head, largest and least numerous on the thorax and node and intermediate in size and density on the postpetiole and gaster. Legs rather finely and indistinctly punctulate.
Hairs yellow, sparse, erect or suberect, longest on the gaster; short, abundant and subappressed on the appendages. Pubescence long, distinct only on the dorsal surface of t'he head. Deep ferruginous brown; clypeus and borders of mandibles darker; legs paler, dull brownish yellow. Described from two specimens taken by Mr. A. M. Lea at Hobart, Tasmania.
This species seems to be very close to the two other known species of the genus. It differs from mblyops in possessing an additional tooth on the mandibles, from cribriceps in having a shorter head and petiole and smaller eyes, and from both in having a small rectangular shelf-like lobe which projects from the upper part of the clypeus immediately under and between the lobes of the frontal carinse. This last character is of peculiar significance since a similar though longer rectangular projection is one of the peculiarities of Trapeziopelta Mayr, a genus in other respects very closely related to Myopias, as Emery has remarked. One might, indeed, go so far as to regard Trapezio- pelta as a subgenus of Myopias.
Genus Acant hoponera Mayr
Acanthoponera (Anacanthoponera) imbellis Emery (Fig. 2.)
Acanthoponera imbellis Emery, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 39, 1895, p. 346 Q ; Gen. Insect,. Ponerinse 1911, p. 36 Q ; Forel, Ark. 2001.9, 1915, p. 10 S?' .
The typical form of" this species was originally described from Kamerunga, Queensland, but seems to be widely, dis- tributed in Australia. Fore1 has recorded it from Adelaide, South Australia (E. Mjoberg), and I have seen specimens takeu by Mr. A. M. Lea at Port Lincoln and Gawler in the same com-



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IS0 Psyche [December
inonwealth.
Emery gives tnhe length of the type specimen as 2.75 inm. My specimens are somewhat. larger (3.2 mm.) and Forel's measured 3-3.2 mm. The petiole when viewed from above is decidedly broader than long, the postpetiole and are decidedly shining, the former densely punctate) with gaster
supcr-
Fig. 2.
Acanfhoponwa (~4~zmanLhofioncra) imbdlis Eme~y, worker, a, head from above b, thorax and abdomen in profile.
imposed, scattered, larger punctures) or foveolq which have sharp anterior borders so that they are somewhat "eingestochen)), to use a German expression. The color appears to be rather variable, the gaster being sometimes dark brown like the head or like both the head and thorax) sometimes paler brown with only the head dark.
Var. hilaris Forel.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) imbellis var. hilare Forel) Ann. SOC. Belg. 39, 1895, p. 421 k! .
Acanthoponera imbellis var. hilaris Emery) Gen. Insect. Ponerinz 1911) p. 10 k! .
According to Forel, t'his variety, taken at Mackay) Queens- land (Gilbert Turner), is larger than't,he type (3.6 mm.) and differs in sculpture as follows: "Abdomen densely punctate and subopaque. All the remainder densely and finely reticulate- punctate and opaque. Moreover, the front is coarsely longi- tudinally rugose, while the other portions of the head) the thorax



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19231 Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera 181 and petiole are covered with dense? superimposed foveolz, in part reticulate or transformed into rug*." A single specimen taken at' Sydney) New South Wales (A. M. Lea) agrees wit,h this description.
Var. scabra var. nov.
Worker. Length 2.5-3 mm.
Differing from the typical imbellis and the preceding variety in having the petiolar node distinctly longer in proportion to its width. The sculpture of the head? thorax and petiole is coarser and the po~tpet~iole and base of the first gastric segment) though feebly shining? are longitudinally reticulate-rugulose. The color is dark brown, with the mandibles) antennz and legs brownish or reddish yellow. One specimen has the postpetiole and gaster paler and more reddish than the head and thorax. Described from three workers taken by Mr. A. M. Lea at Sydney) Kew South Wales. .
Acanthopone~a (Anacanthoponera) lee sp. nov. (Fig. 3.)
TTvorker. Length 4 mm.
Head subrectangular) a little longer than broad and very slightly narrower in front, than behind; the posterior border Fig, 3.
Acanthopowra (Amzca?zfhoponera) lea sp. nov. worker. a, head, from above; b,
thorax and abdomen in profile.




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rather deeply and broadly concave, the sides feebly and evenly con\Tex, the median longitudinal costa, or carina, extending back over the front and vertex, very pronounced. Eyes rather small, moderately convex, their anterior orbits just behind the median transverse diameter of the head. Mandibles large and broad, their external border rather straight in the n~iddle, the terminal border with only three distinct large apical teeth, the more basal denticles appearing as mere undulations. Clypeus sharply carinate, its anterior border entire, broadly rounded and depressed; frontal area short and indistinct] with a median carina continuous with those of the clypeus and dorsal surface of the head; frontal carin~ separated as in imbellis, subparallel, scarcely reaching to the level of tlhe anterior orbits, bordering a depressed area on each side for the accomodation of the antennz. Scapes of the latter reaching somewhat beyond the eyes; funi- cular joints 2-7 subequal, transverse but less so than in imbellis, the three terminal joints forming an indistinct club) the last joint somewhat longer t'han the two preceding subequal joints together. Thorax in profile feebly rounded abcke, slightly more convex and broadest in the region of the pronotum) which is transversely subrectangular, with distinctly dentate anterior corners, the teeth being nearly as long as the width of their bases. Promesonotal suture subangular, distinct but not strongly impressed; mesoepinotal suture obsolete. me so no tun^ short) broader than long) somewhat semicircular. Epinotuin with nearly straight base which is distinctly longer than the abrupt, slightly concave declivity, the lateral angles between the two surfaces forming stout, broad, rather acute and erect teeth. The declivity is longitudinally grooved in the middle but not marginate on the sides below. Petiolar node cuneate in profile, about one and one-half times as high as longj narrowed above: its summit produced in the middle as a short, stout, erect spine; seen from above the node is sonxwhat hexagonal, broader than long, the median transverse diameter correspond- ing with the narrowed, transverse summit. At the anteroventral end of the petiole there is an acute, backwardly directed tooth. Postpetiole very large, longer than broad, narrowed in front, where its anterior surface is abr~ptly truncated and concave, its



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19231 Ants of the Genera Mtjopius and Acanthoponem 183 sides convex) its anteroventral edge with a transverse tubercle. Gaster small and short) much smaller than the postpetiole, the first segment convex above) semicircular) scarcely longer than broad! enveloping the remaining segments which are very small and together form a downwardly directed cone. Sting sn~all. Legs rather long and stout; tarsal claws simple. Opaque; mandibles somewhat shining) finely striate and coarsely punctate) the striz and punctures more numerous near the apical border. Clypeus finely and indistinctly punctate- rugulose. Head between and behind the frontal carin~ coarsely and divergently longitudinally rugose) with coarse punctures7 or foveolz in the interrugal spaces; sides of head with the rows of foveolz more distinct. Thorax) petiole) postpetiole and first gastric segment coarsely rugose and foveolate) the rugz vern~icu- late and reticu1at)e on the pronotum and petiole] longitudinal on the mesoepinotun~) including the epinotal declivity, mesopleurz) postpetiole and first gastric segment) most sharply on the two latter regions. Terminal gastric segments smoother and some- what shining; scapes and legs subopaque) densely punctate. Hairs yellow, fine) uneven) rather abundant and rather short) erect or suberect on the body; the appendages covered with abundant)fine,rather appresseci hairs with fewer)interspersed) long, erect hairs.
Deep castaneous brown; mandibles) scapes) tip of gastcr and legs) excluding the COXE) yellowish brown; apical borders of mandibles and median carina of head black. Described from two specimens taken by Mr. A. M. Lea in the National Park, near Sydney) New South Wales. This very distinct species is interesting because) unlike the other known Australasian species of the genus) it approaches the Neotropical mucronuta in the armature of the petiole. Acanthoponem (Anacanthoponera) brouni Fore1 Acanthoponera brownii Forel) Mitteil. Schweiz. Ent. Zeitschr. 8) 1892) p. 330 Q ; Emery) Gen. Insect. Ponerin~ 1911) p. 36 !j . Acanthoponera brounii Forel) Trans. New Zealand Inst. 37, 1904, p. 353 i4.




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184 Psyche [~ecember
This species was described from specimens talcen by Major Thos. Broun at Drury) near Auckland, Yew Zealand. Fore1
originally spelled the gentlen~an~s name '(Brown" and nainecl th- species "br~wnii'~ but corrected the elTor in 1904. Emery in the "Genera Insectorun~)' questions the advisability of this procedure. 1 can only record my conviction that, such obvious taxonomic blunders should be corrected and not propagated in- definitely in the lit'erature in a spirit of silly pedantry. Subsp. kirki subsp. nov.
(Fig. 4.1
Worker. Length 2.3-3 mm.
Smaller than the typical form of the species) which measures 3.2-3.5 inm. The head is not coarsely but very finely and in- distinctly rugulose.
The declivity of the epinotun~ is strongly concavel its lateral marginations enlarged above to form blunt, but distinct teeth. The color differs from that of the type as Fig :. Acantho$onera (Anacaxthofio~cra) brauni Fore1 subsp. kirki subsp. nov.wa, head of worker frqm abovei b, thorax and abdomen of same in profile; c, thorax and abdomen of ergatomorph~c female In profile.




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19231 Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera 185 follows; Body ferruginous red; mandibles, clypeus, mesonotum and gaster brownish yellow ; dorsal surface of epinotum, t,he petiole and posterior borders of postpetiole and gastric segments dark brown; cox% and legs pale yellow, knees and tarsi reddish. Female. Length 3.2 mm.
Wingless and ergatomor~hic, differing from the worker only in its slightly larger size, in possessing small ocelli, in having the marginations of the epinotal declivity more rounded and less dentate above and in the larger abdomen, the postpetiole and first gastric segment especially being more voluminous. The color of the body is also different, the pronotum being darker then the meso- and epinotum, the petiole, postpetiole and gaster reddish brown like the pronotum, with the post,erior borders of the segments brownish yellow.
The anterior is somewhat paler
than the posterior half ot the head.
Described from numerous workers and a single female which I took Sept. 5, 1914 from a single colony, comprising about 100 individuals in the Waitakari Forest, near Auckland, New Zealand. The ants were nesting under a dead branch of one of the huge kaori trees (Agathis austra7is), which was lying on an exposed root of the tree from which it had fallen. When first disturbed the workers were quite actlive but on being touched curled up and "feigned death".
Similar behavior was observed by Het.s-
chko in the Brazilian A. dentinodis, according to Mayr. The single female, described above, was evidently the mother queen of the colony, which had a number of small larvae. These resembled the larvae of Ectatomma in being smooth, that is nontuberculate, and in being covered with dense, soft hairs. The subspecies is dedicated to Prof. H. B. Kirk of Victoria University, Wellington, the memory of whose kindness during my sojourn in New Zealand I shall always cherish. The occurence of a single ergatomorphic female as the mother queen of kirki is of interest, because so few females of Acantho- ponera have been taken, and because in the Neotropical denti- nodis, dolo and mucronata all the recorded individuals were of the typical winged type.
But Emery in 1906 found two in-
dividuals like the workers but with more voluminous abdomens among specimens of the
Chilean carinifrons. One of these,




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186 Psyche [December
with the larger abdomen, was paler in color than the workers, with higher petiole and more pubescent legs and gaster. He regarded this individual as an ergatoid female and the other as a form transitional to the normal worker. That he was correct in his assumption is shown by tlhe foregoing observations on kirki. Whether such ergatlomorphic females ever co-exist with winged forms in the same species or colony will have to be de- termined by future observations.
I insert here a list of the American species and varieties of Acanthoponera with their synonymy and known distribution: A canthoponera (A nucanthopon era) carinifrons (Mayr) Heteroponera carinifrons Map, Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien 37, 1887, p. 533 9 ; Dalla Torre, Cat. Hymen. 7, 1893, p. 43 Q . Acanthoponera carinifrons Emery, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 39, 1895, p. 347 Q ; Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 37, 1906, p. 112 kj ; '
Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 191 1, p. 36 9 Q . Type locality : Valdivia, Chile.
Chile: Coipuk, San Vicente (F. Silvestri); Corral (R. Thaxter, my collection).
Acanthoponera (Anacanthoponera) dentinodis May. Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) dentinode Mayr, Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien 37, 1887, p. 541 kj 9 3; Emery, Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 26, 1894, p. 143, 144 Q .
Ectatomma dentinode Dalla Torre, Cat. Hymen. 7, 1893, p. 24 Q 98.
Acanthoponera dentinodis Emery, Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 19 11, Op. 36, i2 9 8.
Type locality : Sant,a Catharina, Brazil (Hetschko) . Bolivia (L. Balzan) ; Brazil : Novo Friburgo. Var. inermis Emery.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) dentinode var. inerme Emery, Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 26, 1894, p. 143 9 .




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19231 Ants of the Genera myopia,^ and Acanthoponera 187 Acanthoponera dentinodis var. inermis Emery, Gen. Insect. Ponerina? 19 11, p. 36 9 .
Type locality: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Var. panamensis Forel.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) dentinode Fore1 var. panamense Forel, Biol. Centr. Amer. Hymen. 3,
1899-1900, p. 9 !$ .
Acanthoponera dentinodis var. panamensis Emery, Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 1911, p. 36 4 .
Type locality: Volcan de Chiriqui, 3000 ft., Panama (Champion).
Acanthoponera (Anacanthoponera) dolo (Roger). Ponera dolo Roger, Berlin. Ent. Zeitschr. 4, 1860, p. 293 i! 9.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) dolo Mayr, Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien 12,1862, p. 733; ibid. 37,1887, p. 540. Ectatomma dolo Dalla Torre, Cat. Hymen. 7, J893, p. 2-1 Q .
Acanthoponera dolo Emery, Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 37, 1906, p. 112
S ; Fore1 Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien 1908, p. 342 4 ; Emery, Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 1911, p. 36 ^ 9 ; Forel, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 56,
1912, p. 34 Q ; Bruch, Revist.
Mus. La Plata 19, 1914, p. 214 g
9 ; Gallardo, An. Mus.
Nac. Hist. Nat. Buenos Aires 30, 1918, p. 18 Q 9 ; Lueder- waldt,, Notas Myrmecologicas, S5o Paulo, 1918, p. 6. Type locality: Brazil (Schaum and von Olfers). Brazil: Bella Vista, Paran& (F. Silvestri) ; Siio Paulo (von Ihering) ; Prov. Rio Janeiro (Goeldi) ; Ilha de S. Sebastigo, Alto da Serra, Salto Grande, Ituverava, Siio Paulo (H. Luedenvalclt). Argentina: Puerto Piray, Misiones (F. Silvestri) . Var. aurea Forel. -
Acanthoponera dolo var. aurea Forel, Bull. Soc. Va'ud. Sc. Sat- 49, 1913, p. 203 ^ $; Bruch, Revist, Mus. La Plata 19, 1914, p. 214 !2 ; Gallardo, An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. Buenos Aires 30, 1918, p. 20 g 3. Fig. 1.
Type locality: Misiones,-Argentina (C. Bruch).



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Psyche [December
Var. schwebeli Luederwaldt.
Acc~~~tl~oponera dolo var. schwebeli Luederwaldt Revist . Mus. Paul. 1918, p. 54 G ; German transl. S5o Paulo 1920, p. 3 ; Not,as Myrniecologicas, S5o Paulo. 1918, p. 6. Type locality: Alto da Serra, Siio Paulo, Brazil (E. Schwebel) Acanthoponera goeldii Forel.
Acanthoponera qoeldii Forel, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 56, 1912, 13. 34 !$ .
Type locality: Prov. Espiritu Santo, Brazil (Goeldi). Subsp. schmarzi subsp. nov,
(Fig. 5.)
Worker. Lengt'h 4.5 mm.
Agreeing well with Forel's description of the type but smaller, with t<he petiolar spine as long as the epinotal spines and ap- parently directed somewhat more upward. The epinotal spines diverge and t'heir downward deflection is feeble. There is no constriction between t'he postpet'iole and gaster. The color seems to be paler, being brownish yellow, the po~t~petiole and Fig. 5.
Acanihoponera goeldii subsp. schwarzi subsp. nov. Worker, lateral aspecu.
gaster lighter than the head and thorax (darker in the typical goelclii), as as the legs. only the overlapping posterior borders of the segments brown. Judging from the description of goeldii, the sculpture of the head, thorax and petiole is finer and more indist'inct and the postpetiole and gaster are not aciculate, but very finely and superficially punctulate. Pubescence on these



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19231 Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponcra 189 latter regions conspicuously long. The frontal carinse with their accompanying scrobes extend t,o the posterior corners of the head and there curve downward and forward to terminate under the eyes, as in t,he typical goeldii. Described from a single specimen found running on a cacao tree at Trece Aguas, Alta Vera Paz Guatemala by Messrs. E. A. Schwarz and H. S. Barber.
This may be a distinct species, but as I have seen no spe- cimens of the typical goeldii, with the de~cript~ion of which it agrees in quite a number of characters, it may stand provisionally as a subspecies.
Acanthoponera mucronata (Roger) .
Ponera mucronata Roger, Berlin. Ent. Zeitschr. 4, 1860, p. 299 Q 9.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) mucronatu?n Mayr. Verh. zool. bot. Ges. Wien 12, 1862, p. 962; ibid. 37, 1887, p. 540; Emery, Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 26, 1894, p. 143 Q ; Forel, Biol. Centr. Amer. Hymen. 3, 1899-1900, p. 9 Q 9 .
Ectatomma mucronatum Dalla Torre, Cat. Hymen. 7, 1893, p. 25 4 9.
A canthoponera mucronata Emery, Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 19 11, p. 36 s? 9. PI. 2, Fig. 2; Forel, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 56,1912, p. 34 4 ; Luederwaldt, Notas Myrinecologicas, Siio Paulo 1918, p. 6. Type locality: Brazil (von Olfers). Brazil: Matto do Governo, S5o Paulo (H. Luederwaldt); Corcovado, near Rio de Janeiro (A. Muller); Matto Grosso. Var. minor Forel.
Ectatomma (Acanthoponera') mucronatum var. minor Forel, Biol. Centr. Amer. Hymen. 3, 1899-1900, p. 9 Q . Acanthoponera mucronata var. minor Emery,, Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital. 28, 1896, p. 33 Q ; Gen. Insect. Ponerinse 1911, p. 36 Q . Type locality: Teapa en Tabasco, Mexico (H. H. Smith). Costa Rica: Suerre (A. Alfaro).




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Psyche
Var. wagneri Sant,schi.
Acanthoponera mucronata var. wagneri Santschi, Bull. Soc. Vaud Sc. Nat. 54, 1921, p. 84 !4 .
Type locality: Banderas, 55 kin. north of Icafio, Chaco de Santiago del Estero, Argentina (E. R. Wagner). The following key may serve for t,he identification of the workers of the various forms of Acanthoponera mentioned in this paper:
1. Claws tridentate ; epinotum armed witth spines; petiole terminating above and behind in a spine; constriction between postpetiole and gaster feeble or absent (subgen. Acanthoponera sens. str.) ........................... .2 Claws simple: epinotum at most dentate or subdentate; petiole (except in A. Ieee) unarmed or merely with a median tooth or projection behind; constriction between postpetiole and gaster well-developed. (subgen. Ana- canthoponera subgen. nov.) ........................ .6. 2.
Frontal carinse and adjacent scrobes extending around the posterior corners of the head and terminating under the eyes; funicular joints 2-5 at least twice as broad as long; epinotal spines curved downward. ............. .3. Frontal caringe and scrobes terminating at posterior corners of head; scapes more slender, funicular joints 2-5 some- what broader than long. .......................... .4. 3.
Petiolar spine shorter than the epinotal spines; constriction between postpetiole and first gast'ric segment distinct; these segments aciculate, subopaque. Length 4.9-5 mni. (Brazil). ............................... goeldiz Forel. Petiolar spine as long as the epinotal spines; constriction between postpetiole and first gastric segment absent ; these segment's shining, finely punctate. Length 4.5 mm. ................ (Guatemala) subsp. schwarzi subsp. nov. 4. Epinotal spines curved inwards. Length 8 mm.; female 10 mm.
Postpetiole and first gastric segment punctate- .....
rugulose, subopaque. (Brazil) mucronata (Roger.) Lengt,h 6 mm. or less. .............................. .5.



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19231 Ants of the Genera Myopias and Acanthoponera 191 Anterior corners of pronotum angular; epinotal spines straight and divergent; postpetiole and gaster shining and sparsely punctate. Length 6 mm. (Argentina). var. wagneri Santschi.
Anterior corners of pronotum more rounded; petiolar spine somewhat more erect.
Length 5.3mm. (Mexico).
var. minor Forel.
Australasian species; dark brown. .................... .7. Neotropical species; black, brownish yellow, or brownish .......................................... red.. .12.
Petiole armed with an erect spine above; anterior corners of pronotum dentate. Length 4 mm. (New South Wales). Ieee sp. nov.
Petiole unarmed, anterior corners of pronotum rounded. Length less than 4 mm. .......................... .8. Petiolar node concave behind, the posterior border of its summit distinctly produced backwards. ............. .9. Petiolar node truncated behind, its posterior border not produced ....................................... 10. Larger (3.2-3.5 mm.) ; head coarsely rugose; epinotum scarcely dentate (New Zealand). ...... brouni Forel. Smaller (2.3-3 mm.) ; head finely and distinctly rugose ; epinotum more distinctly dentate; legs paler. (New Zealand) .................. subsp. kirki subsp. nov. Front, of head rather finely rugose; postpetiole and gaster shining, punctate and sparsely foveolate. Length 2.75- 3.2 mm. (Queensland ; South Australia) .imbeZlis Emery. Front of head more coarsely rugose; postpetiole and gaster subopaque ...................................... 11. Postpetiole and gaster densely punctate. Length 3.6 mm. (Queensland; South Australia) .... var. hilaris Forel. Postpetiole and first gastric segment longitudinally reti- culate-rugose. Stature smaller (2.5-3mm.). (New South Wales). ...................... .var. scabra var. nov. Black; petiole without a distinct tooth on its posterior border. Length 3.3-3.7 mm. (Chile) . . carinifrons Mayr. Brownish yellow or brownish red; petiole usually armed with a distinct tooth or projection. ................. .13.



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192 Psyche [~ecember
.........
13. Frontal carinse as long as the antenna1 scapes. .14. Frontal cariiise much shorter, reaching only to the level of oftheeyes ...................................... 16. 14. Sculpture coarse. Length 3-4.2 mm. (Brazil, Bolivia), dentinodis Mayr*
....................................
Sculpture finer .................................. 15. 15. Petiolar tooth reduced to a mere convexity (Brazil). var. inermis Emery.
Petiolar tooth distinct; pubescence more abundant; color deeper. (Panama) .............. var. panamensis Forel. ............... 16. Teeth of epinotum and petiole distinct. .17. .............
Teeth of epinotum and petiole absent. (Brazil) do10 var. schwebeli Luederwaldt.
17.
Larger (5-5.5 mm.) ; anterior surface of petiolar node more rounded; legs with numerous suberect hairs (Brazil, Argentina) .............................. dolo Roger. Smaller (4.5) nun.; ant,erior surface of petiolar node more angular in profile above; thorax less convex; legs only with appressed or subappressed hairs; pubescence more .... brilliant and golden (Argentina). var. aurea Forel.



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