Gnamptogenys

Gnamptogenys is a group of predatory ponerine ants found in tropical and subtropical, mesic forested areas in Southeast Asia and Australasia and from the southern United States to northern Argentina. Most species nest at ground level in rotten wood or leaf litter, but some are arboreal. Their colonies are relatively small, with at most a few hundred workers. Reproduction is generally through queens, though worker reproduction is known in some species from Southeast Asia. While many species are generalist predators, specialized diets such as millipede predation have arisen in several New World lineages. The New World species of Gnamptogenys were revised by Lattke in 1995 while the Asian and Australian species were revised by Lattke in 2004.

Identification
The forward sections of the frontal lobes and the antennal sockets are separated by the broadly rounded or triangular rearward extension of the clypeus. When viewed from above, the pronotum and mesonotum form a single, uninterrupted plate. The first segment (coxa) of the hind leg has a tooth or spine on its upper surface near the body in the vast majority of species. The node of the petiole has distinct front, top and rear faces.

While the majority of Gnamptogenys species can be diagnosed by the presence of the denticle on the metacoxal dorsum, this structure is absent in a number of species (currently 5 cases are known). An invariable autapomorphy for Gnamptogenys is the loss of the apical seta on the fore tibia. The absence of this seta will allow identification of the few species which lack the distinctive spine on the dorsum of the hind coxa.

These ants share many features with Ectatomma, Heteroponera and Rhytidoponera, but the fused pronotum and mesonotum and the spine on the coxa of the hind leg (near the body) are unique and will separate these ants from all others.

Additional references

 * Paul, J. (2001). Mandible movements in ants . Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 131 (A): 7–20.

__NOGLOSSARY__