Pyramica mutica-group

Bolton, B., 2000, The ant tribe Dacetini. With a revision of the Strumigenys species of the Malgasy Region by Brian L. Fisher, and a revision of the Austral epopostrumiform genera by Steven O. Shattuck., Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65, pp. 341-369 : 350-351

mutica-group

DIAGNOSIS OF WORKER

Mandibles in full-face view and at full closure elongate-triangular; teeth occupy only the apical half of each mandible but the opposing rows fully engage. Basal halves edentate and with a large space present between the mandible blades, through which the labral lobes are visible. In ventral view outer margin of mandible without an inflected prebasal angle. MI 20 - 30.

Dentition. With 12 very crowded teeth and denticles that occupy the apical half to third of the exposed length of the mandible. The basal tooth is followed by 10 denticles of similar size and an enlarged apical tooth. A long, shallowly concave diastema is present between basal tooth and basal lamella.

Basal lamella of mandible a high rounded lobe that is partially or mostly visible in full-face view with the mandibles fully closed.

Labrum terminates in a pair of triangular, digitate or conical narrow lobes.

Clypeus with anterior margin broadly convex, the outer margins of the mandibles intersecting the clypeal margin close to the anterolateral angles at full closure.

Clypeal dorsum with appressed narrowly spatulate hairs, the clypeal margins fringed with similar but slightly elevated narrowly spatulate curved hairs that are directed anteriorly.

Preocular carina conspicuous in full-face view.

Ventrolateral margin of head between eye and mandible weakly or not developed, the side tending to round into the ventre. Postbuccal impression very shallow.

Cuticle of side of head within scrobe reticulate to reticulate-punctate. Scape moderate, SI 76 - 88 (in Malagasy species), subcylindrical to weakly dorsoventrally flattened in section.

Leading edge of scape with a row of narrowly spatulate hairs that are directed toward the apex of the scape. (In one extralimital species basally directed hairs occur.)

Alitrunk compact, short and high in profile and the dorsal outline distinctly biconvex, with a promesonotal convexity and a propodeal convexity, the two separated by a distinctly impressed metanotal groove.

Pronotum without a median longitudinal carina.

Propodeum unarmed or bidentate, the dorsum rounding broadly into the declivity, the latter with a narrow lamella that extends the depth of each side.

Spongiform appendages of waist segments present but reduced to inconspicuous small lateral lobes and thin posterior collars. Base of first gastral sternite in profile without a pad of dense spongiform tissue.

Pilosity. Apicoscrobal hair and pronotal humeral hair absent. Standing hairs absent to sparse on dorsal surfaces of head and alitrunk; when present with at most one pair behind highest point of vertex, and another pair on the mesonotum. Dorsal (outer) surfaces of middle and hind tibiae with apically curved small spatulate hairs that are subappressed to appressed; without elongate freely projecting hairs.

Sculpture. Dorsum of head behind clypeus finely densely reticulate-punctate everywhere; alitrunk similarly sculptured or with smooth patches on pleurae.

Of the six species currently in the mutica-group two, erynnes and tathula, occur in Magadascar. Of the other four, two are from New Guinea ( media , yaleogyna ), one is known only from Taiwan (takasago) and the other, mutica itself, is widely distributed from Japan to Java. The group remains unknown from the West Palaearctic and Afrotropical regions and is absent from the New World. The characters of the diagnosis will immediately isolate erynnes and tathula from all their congeners in both Africa and Madagascar.