Taxonomy of Afrotropical and West Palaearctic ants of the ponerine genus Hypoponera Santschi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
Author
Bolton, B.
Author
Fisher, B. L.
text
Zootaxa
2011
2843
1
118
http://antbase.org/ants/publications/23490/23490.pdf
journal article
23490
Hypoponera surda Bolton & Fisher
sp. n.
(Figs 118
-
120)
WORKER (holotype in parentheses). Measurements: HL 0.63
-
0.68 (0.66), HW 0.52
-
0.56 (0.54), HS 0.585
-
0.620 (0.600), SL 0.46
-
0.48 (0.48), PrW 0.40
-
0.42 (0.42), WL 0.86
-
0.90 (0.88), HFL 0.48 (0.48), PeNL 0.19
-
0.21 (0.20), PeH 0.40
-
0.45 (0.45), PeNW 0.28
-
0.30 (0.30), PeS 0.297
-
0.317 (0.317) (5 measured). Indices: CI 82
-
83 (82), SI 86
-
91 (89), PeNI 69
-
71 (71), LPeI 44
-
50 (44), DPeI 140
-
150 (150).
FIGURES
118
-
120. Lateral, full face and dorsal view of body.
Hypoponera surda
paratype worker CASENT0226544.
Eyes absent. Apex of scape, when laid straight back from its insertion, just fails to reach, or just touches, the midpoint of the posterior margin in full-face view; SL/HL 0.71
-
0.75. Cephalic dorsum finely reticulate-punctate. Pronotal dorsum almost smooth, obviously much less strongly and densely sculptured than cephalic dorsum. Metanotal groove absent from dorsum of mesosoma. Mesonotal-mesopleural suture absent from side of mesosoma. Propodeum weakly marginate between declivity and side. Posterior surface of petiole node with a series of very short cuticular ridges that radiate upward from the peduncle. Node of petiole in profile with the anterior and posterior faces parallel, the dorsum shallowly convex. Petiole node in dorsal view thickly D-shaped, posterior face transverse and anterior face strongly and quite narrowly convex. Subpetiolar process blunt or with a feeble ventral angle. Maximum width of first gastral tergite in dorsal view greater than width of second gastral tergite at its midlength. Cross-ribs at base of cinctus of second gastral tergite conspicuous. Midline length of second gastral posttergite
,
from posterior margin of cinctus to apex, is about equal to the width of the segment at its midlength. Disc of second gastral tergite with small punctures that are relatively widely spaced and separated by areas of glossy cuticle; the diameters of the punctures are less than the distances that separate the punctures. First and second gastral tergites dorsally pubescent and with a number of short standing setae that project above the level of the pubescence.
Holotype worker (upper of two specimens on pin), Kenya: Embu, Kirimiri For. W. of Runyenje, 1550 m., 3.x.1977 (V. Mahnert & J.-L. Perret) (MHNG).
Paratypes. 8 workers with same data as holotype (MHNG, BMNH, CASC, BBRC).
Among the species that possess cuticular ridges at the base of the posterior face of the petiole node,
surda
is fairly distinct. The two
species faex
and
hebes
have very coarse cephalic and pronotal sculpture, whereas in
surda
the cephalic sculpture is fine and almost effaced on the pronotum. In addition,
faex
is much larger (HW 0.72) and has well-developed eyes, while
hebes
has a broader petiole node (PeNI 80
-
84) and very obvious long, standing setae on the first and second gastral tergites dorsally; these are much longer and more conspicuous than those of
surda
. The remaining species,
mixta
,
jeanneli
,
jocosa
,
quaestio
and
ursa
, have more densely packed punctate sculpture on the disc of the second gastral tergite, and have petiole nodes that are not distinctly thickly D-shaped in dorsal view. See also the notes under
jeanneli
.