Bannapone

This rarely encountered genus is known from only a small number of collections. Queens of Bannapone mulanae have been collected from a soil sample in semi-evergreen monsoon forest and a leaf litter sample in a tropical rainforest. Two worker specimens of Bannapone scrobiceps were collected from a single site located at 550 meters elevation, consisting of secondary forest habitat with thick leaf litter cover and abundant decomposing woody material on the forest floor. These workers were collected from leaf litter using Winkler extraction.

Identification
Eguchi et al. (2015) - The genus Bannapone is morphologically similar to Stigmatomma, and the former is distinguishable from the latter by a single character seen in the worker and queen: in Bannapone the middle to basal part of the inner margin of mandible has 2–5 blunt or truncate teeth which are arranged in a single row; on the other hand in Stigmatomma the inner margin of mandible has triangular teeth arranged in two rows, or at least a part of the inner margin of mandible has more or less bifid teeth (see Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012).

Diagnosis of the worker and queen. Mandible elongate and slender; apical tooth forming an elongate and falcate apical blade; a preapical denticle often present near the apex of the blade; 2–5 blunt or truncate teeth arranged in a single row in the middle to basal part of the inner margin of mandible (mid-basal tooth row).

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



Castes
Males have not been collected.

Nomenclature

 *  BANNAPONE [Amblyoponinae]
 * Bannapone Xu, 2000b: 299. Type-species: Bannapone mulanae, by original designation.

Worker
Monomorphic; head in full-face view subrectangular, in lateral view flattened dorsoventrally; median furrow present in its posteriormost part of vertex or from frons to posterior border of vertex; anterolateral corner of head beside each mandibular insertion angular but not forming a tooth; preoccipital carina absent dorsally and laterally; frontal lobes present, narrowly separated by posteromedian portion of clypeus, or closely approximate to each other; frontal carina reaching vertex, or short and extending by no more than the length of frontal lobe; antennal scrobe faintly to moderately impressed; anterior margin of clypeus slightly to weakly convex, with 4–8 peg-like or teat-like setae that are based on tubercles; mandible elongate and slender; apical tooth forming an elongate and falcate apical blade; a preapical denticle often present near the apex of the blade; 2–5 blunt or truncate teeth arranged in a single row in the middle to basal part of the inner margin of mandible (mid-basal tooth row); antennal socket concealed by frontal lobe; antenna 10- or 11-segmented (see Remarks); eye absent; mesosoma in lateral view almost flat dorsally or weakly convex dorsally; promesonotal suture present and flexible; mesonotum in dorsal view constricted; mesopleuron not subdivided into anepisternum and katepisternum; metanotal groove faint or absent on the dorsum of mesosoma; propodeum unarmed; orifice of propodeal spiracle round; propodeal lobe present but very low; petiole essentially sessile, broadly attached to abdominal segment III, in lateral view without a free posterior face; subpetiolar process lobate, producing anteroventrad, without translucent fenestra; abdominal segment III with free anterior face below helcium only; pygidium large, convex across, laterally and posteriorly unarmed; hypopygium not armed with a series of spines posteriorly; sting well developed.

Queen
Eguchi et al. (2015) - The queen similar to the worker except in the following features: compound eye relatively well developed, situated behind midlength of side of head; ocelli present; median ocellus in full-face view located at or a little behind the level of posterior margin of compound eye; peg-like setae and their basal tubercles on anterior clypeal margin well developed to much reduced; mesosoma fully segmented; mesoscutum without parapsidal and notaular lines; axillae separated from the remainder part of mesoscutum by inconspicuous scutal suture; scuto-scutellar suture distinct; mesopleuron not or partly subdivided into anepisternum and katepisternum; propodeum unarmed; orifice of propodeal spiracle round; propodeal lobe absent, or present but low, with a roundly convex outline.