Simopone bakeri

Identification
A member of the grandidieri species group. The maxillary palps of an MCZC specimen are short and the palp formula appears to be 4 (or perhaps 5), 3. If the maxillary palp has only 4 segments then bakeri will be unique in the genus. Perhaps the most obvious identifying character of this species is the anterior margin of the clypeus, which has a conspicuous prominent tooth at its midpoint, a character not shared with any other of the extralimital species. (Bolton and Fisher 2012)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Philippines, Singapore.

Nomenclature

 *  bakeri. Simopone bakeri Menozzi, 1926e: 92 (w.) SINGAPORE. See also: Taylor, 1966b: 288; Bolton & Fisher, 2012: 71.

Type Material
Bolton and Fisher (2013) - Holotype worker, SINGAPORE (C.F. Baker) (IEUB) [not seen]. Taylor (1966) provides some extra notes on the holotype of bakeri. There is a single damaged dealate queen in MCZ (abdominal segments AIII to apex missing) which has the data “Singapore, coll. Baker”. It matches adequately the original worker description of bakeri and most of the comments by Taylor (1966). It may well have been collected by Baker along with the holotype, but it was obviously not seen by Menozzi, who does not mention it.

Additional References

 * Bolton, B. & Fisher, B.L. 2012. Taxonomy of the cerapachyine ant genera Simopone Forel, Vicinopone gen. n. and Tanipone gen. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 3283, 1–101.