Anochetus

Found throughout the world's tropics and subtropics and represented by more than 100 species. The most recent revision is becoming somewhat dated (Brown 1978), along with its included key to species. Anochetus form small nests, usually with fewer than 100 workers, in soil, in termite nests, under logs and in rotten wood. They are predacious on small invertebrates with some species known to specialise on termites, using their trap-like jaws and sting to capture and subdue prey. They commonly forage in leaf litter and are less frequently found in the open, especially when compared to workers of the closely related genus Odontomachus.

Identification
When viewed from the front, the outer surface of the head is complex, with narrow sections above and below bulging convexities which contain the eyes. The mandibles are long and straight, are inserted in the middle of the front margin of the head, and generally have only 2 or 3 large teeth near the tips (although they sometimes have small teeth along the inner margins which are much smaller than the teeth at the tips). The top of the head is uniformly coloured and lacks dark lines. The upper front of the head is usually smooth although it sometimes has a weak, ill-defined central groove.

The unique shape of the head and mandibles will separate these ants from all others except Odontomachus. Odontomachus and Anochetus can be easily distinguished by the characters on the back of the head. With head viewed from back near neck of pronotum, Odontomachus has dark, inverted V-shaped apophyseal lines that converge to form a distinct, sometimes shallow groove or ridge on upper back of head. In Anochetus, the V-shaped apophyseal lines are absent. In the same region of the back of head, however, nuchal carinae in Anochetus form an uninterrupted, inverted U-shaped ridge. In the field, small members of Anochetus might also be mistaken for Strumigenys, from which they may be distinguished by their one-segmented waist (vs. two segments in Strumigenys).

Key to the Anochetus of Africa, Spain and Madagascar

Species richness
Species richness by country based on regional taxon lists (countries with darker colours are more species-rich). View Data



Nomenclature

 *  ANOCHETUS [Ponerinae: Ponerini]
 * Anochetus Mayr, 1861: 53. Type-species: Odontomachus ghilianii, by monotypy.
 * Anochetus senior synonym of Stenomyrmex: Forel, 1887: 382; Brown, 1978c: 552.
 * Anochetus senior synonym of Myrmapatetes: Brown, 1953h: 2.
 * MYRMAPATETES [junior synonym of Anochetus]
 * Myrmapatetes Wheeler, W.M. 1929b: 6. Type-species: Myrmapatetes filicornis, by original designation.
 * Myrmapatetes junior synonym of Anochetus: Brown, 1953h: 2.
 * STENOMYRMEX [junior synonym of Anochetus]
 * Stenomyrmex Mayr, 1862: 711. Type-species: Myrmecia emarginata, by subsequent designation of Wheeler, W.M. 1911f: 173.
 * Stenomyrmex subgenus of Anochetus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 47; Emery, 1911d: 110; Forel, 1917: 238; Kempf, 1964f: 237.
 * Stenomyrmex junior synonym of Anochetus: Brown, 1978c: 552.