Dinoponera

Dinoponera is a strictly South American genus in the subfamily Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, commonly called tocandiras or giant Amazonian ants (Zahl 1959, Fourcassié and Oliviera 2002, Haddad et al. 2005). These ants are generally less well known than Paraponera clavata, the bullet ant or hormiga bala (Haddad et al. 2005), yet Dinoponera workers may surpass 3cm in total body length, making them the largest in the world. The genus has been found from montane rainforest on the eastern slope of the Andes in Perú, Ecuador and Colombia to savannah and lowland rainforest in Brazil, Guyana, south through Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. (Lenhart, Dash & Mackay, 2013.)

Identification
Size (TBL > 2.5cm) can easily distinguish Dinoponera from other worker ants. Two laterally projecting clypeal teeth and rows of spines on the pygidium and hypopygidium will further distinguish this genus. The gamergates of Dinoponera are not distinct from workers in their external morphology (Haskins and Zahl 1971, Araujo et al. 1990, Paiva and Brandão 1995, Monnin and Peeters 1998). True gynes have not been found in this genus. (Lenhart, Dash & Mackay, 2013.)



Nomenclature

 *  DINOPONERA [Ponerinae: Ponerini]
 * Dinoponera Roger, 1861a: 37. Type-species: Ponera grandis (junior synonym of Ponera gigantea), by monotypy.

Additional References

 * Lenhart, P.A., Dash, S.T. & Mackay, W.P. 2013. A revision of the giant Amazonian ants of the genus Dinoponera (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 31, 119–164.
 * Santos, I.S., Delabie, J.H.C., Silva, J.G., Costa, M.A., Barros, L.A.C., Pompolo, S.G. & Mariano, C.S.F. 2012. Karyotype differentiation among four Dinoponera (Formicidae: Ponerinae) species. Florida Entomologist 95(3), 737-742