Phrynoponera heterodus, Wheeler, W. M., 1922

Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45, pp. 39-269 : 78-79

Phrynoponera heterodus , new species

Female (dealated).- Length 9 mm.

Very closely related to gabonensis but differing in its larger size and in the following particulars: the apical borders of the mandibles are 7-toothed and, in addition to the coarse punctures, are finely striated on their apical halves. The antennae are somewhat longer, the funicular joints 2 to 7 being as long as broad. The rugae on the front and vertex are distinctly coarser and more divergent, the eyes somewhat smaller, the posterior corners of the head more acute, the clypeus bluntly bidentata us in gabonensis . The sculpture of the thorax and petiole is also very similar, the postpetiole and gaster sculptured as in the variety striatidens but even more sharply, so that the whole surface is opaque. The epinotal spines are broad and flat as in gabonensis but the median petiolar tooth is nearly twice as long as the intermediate teeth. The pilosity is, if anything, a little more abundant than in gabonensis and its varieties. The color is black, with the mandibles, legs, and posterior borders of the abdominal segments dark castaneous brown.

A single specimen from Stanleyville (Lang and Chapin), without further data. This form might be regarded as a large subspecies of gabonensis but its precise status can hardly be determined without worker specimens.