Buniapone Schmidt et Shattuck, 2014

Eguchi, Katsuyuki, Viet, Bui Tuan & Yamane, Seiki, 2014, Generic Synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Part II — Cerapachyinae, Aenictinae, Dorylinae, Leptanillinae, Amblyoponinae, Ponerinae, Ectatomminae and Proceratiinae, Zootaxa 3860 (1), pp. 1-46 : 28-29

Buniapone Schmidt et Shattuck, 2014

Taxonomy. The genus Buniapone was established by Schmidt & Shattuck (2014) under the Odontomachus genus group of the tribe Ponerini .

Morphology. Workers of Vietnamese species have the following features (see also Schmidt & Shattuck 2014):

Worker monomorphic; head in full-face view subrectangular; preoccipital carina almost absent; frontal lobes horizontal, separated from each other just with a longitudinal sulcus; antennal scrobe absent; anteromedian margin of clypeus forming a rectangular projection; mandible elongate-triangular, with 6–7 teeth on masticatory margin; basal portion of mandible with a narrow groove dorsolaterally; antenna 12-segmented, gradually incrassate from segment III to XII; eye extremely reduced (consisting of a few ommatidia), located before midlength of side of head in lateral view; promesonotum in lateral view slightly raised; promesonotal suture completely separating pronotum from mesonotum; metanotal groove absent; mesopleuron separated well from mesonotum and metapleuron with distinct sutures, not divided by a transverse groove; metapleural gland bulla, when seen through the sclerite, bean-shaped, large in size (the anterior margin of bulla reaching midlength of metapleuron); metapleural gland orifice opening posterolaterad, with anterior and posterior cuticular flanges; propodeum unarmed; orifice of propodeal spiracle oval; propodeal lobe present but very low; apicoventral part of foretibia with a small simple spur behind a large pectinate spur; apicoventral part of mid and hind tibiae with a simple spur in front of a large pectinate spur; outer surface of middle tibia without peg-like or spiniform setae among background pilosity (but relatively long and thick standing setae present among background pilosity; a few stout setae present near tarsus but never extending along length of tibia); petiole without anterior peduncle; petiolar node squamiform, in lateral view high and thin; subpetiolar process triangular; girdling constriction between abdominal segments III and IV weak; abdominal sternite III usually with a distinct anteroventral kiel beneath helcium; sting well developed.

Differentiation. The worker of Buniapone most closely resembles that of Centromyrmex , butin the latter eye completely absent, and the anteromedian margin of clypeus does not forms a rectangular projection. The worker of Buniapone is also similar to that of Myopias , but in the latter metanotal grooves distinct dorsally, and petiolar node in lateral view thick.

Vietnamese species (1 sp.).

B. amblyops (Emery, 1887) . Au (Pu Mat, Van Ban), Rad (Cuc Phuong).

Bionomics. Workers of Buniapone amblyops have so far been collected by digging up the ground in welldeveloped forests.