Tetraponera buops

Several workers were collected from fogging samples in lowland rainforest at the type locality in Brunei. Nothing is known about the biology of Tetraponera buops but from the robust pro femur of the worker I would surmise that it nests in rather hard, dead wood, or has some other feature of its life history that requires powerful proleg movement. (Ward 2001)

Identification
Ward (2001) - With its elongate head, slender petiole and abundant pilosity the worker caste of T. buops is most similar to that of Tetraponera binghami, but it is easily distinguished from that species by the smaller body size (compare HW and LHT), larger eyes (compare REL and REL2), shorter clypeus, more closely adjacent frontal carinae (FCI <0.13, compared with 0.16-0.20 in T. binghami), broader profemur (FI >0.44 compared with 0.37-0.40 in T. binghami), and narrower petiole (PWI <0.30 compared with 0.36-0.42 in T. binghami). Worker differences between T. buops and Tetraponera attenuata include the broader head, smaller eyes, more slender profemur, and more nodiform petiole of the latter species.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia.

Nomenclature

 *  buops. Tetraponera buops Ward, 2001: 627, figs. 62, 66 (w.) BORNEO.

Worker
HW 0.95-1.00, HL 1.28-1.34, LHT 1.07-1.09, CI 0.73-0.75, FCI 0.10--0.12, REL 0.40-0.42, REL2 0.54-0.57, SI 0.62-0.63, SI3 1.10-1.16, FI 0.45-0.47, PLI 0.33-0.35, PWI 0.25-0.28, PDI 0.91-1.01, LHT/HW 1.10--1.13, CSC 12-18, MSC 44-51.

Medium-sized, slender species, with elongate head (CI <0.78); clypeus very short and anterior clypeal margin almost straight, its anteromedial portion protruding only very slightly beyond the level of the anterolateral margins; frontal carinae relatively close, MFC less than maximum scape width; eyes large (see REL and REL2 values) and scape length only slightly greater than eye length (SI3 <1.20); sides of head subparallel and rounding broadly into posterior margin of head; profemur robust (FI >0.44); lateral margins of pronotum not well defined; mesopropodeal impression well marked but rather short, flanked laterally by low metanotal tubercles that are visible in profile; propodeum relatively low, with a somewhat flattened dorsal face that meets the declivitous face at a rounded juncture; legs long relative to head size, LHT/HL 0.81-0.84; petiole very long and slender (PLI <0.38, PWI <0.30), with an extended anterior peduncle that is only weakly differentiated from the node; petiole about 4x longer than broad; postpetiole about 1.6x longer than broad; metabasitarsal sulcus not prominent, lying adjacent to a low ridge and occupying about 0.60x the length of the basitarsus. Integument with numerous fine punctures, the interspaces smooth and shiny; punctures on dorsum of head and mesosoma mostly 0.005-0.015 mm in diameter (some larger) and separated by one to several diameters; punctures on side of mesosoma tending to be finer, less conspicuous; lower malar area with coarse punctures intermixed with irregular longitudinal rugulae. Standing pilosity common on most of body (CSC > 10, MSC >40), and grading into shorter suberect and decumbent pubescence. Black to dark brownish-black, scape and protibial mottled yellowish-brown and dark brown.

Type Material
Holotype. Worker, Bukit Sulang, nr Lamunin, Brunei, 20.viii-10.ix.1982, fogging (N. E. Stork). Paratypes. 5 workers, same data as holotype (BMNH,, ).