''Brachyponera'' is
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...
s in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Ponerinae
Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including ''Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the fun ...
.
Distribution
The genus is natively distributed from Africa to southern Asia and Australia, with most species occurring in Southeast Asia. At least two species are
invasive in other parts of the world. ''B. chinensis'', the most studied ''Brachyponera'' species, has been introduced as an exotic ant in southeastern United States and New Zealand. The other invasive species, ''B. sennaarensis'', is spreading through the Middle East.
Description
The genus was first established as a
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
of ''
Euponera'', when
Emery (1900) described ''B. croceicornis''.
Workers are small to medium in size (3–7 mm) and have triangular mandibles. Queens are similar to workers, but larger and
winged.
Species
*''
Brachyponera arcuata''
(Karavaiev, 1925)
*''
Brachyponera atrata''
(Karavaiev, 1925)
*''
Brachyponera batak''
(Yamane, 2007)
*''
Brachyponera brevidorsa''
Xu, 1994
*''
Brachyponera chinensis''
(Emery, 1895)
*''
Brachyponera christmasi''
(Donisthorpe, 1935)
*''
Brachyponera croceicornis''
(Emery, 1900)
*''
Brachyponera flavipes''
(Yamane, 2007)
*''
Brachyponera jerdonii''
(Forel, 1900)
*''
Brachyponera lutea''
(Mayr, 1862)
*''
Brachyponera luteipes''
(Mayr, 1862)
*''
Brachyponera mesoponeroides''
Radchenko, 1993
*''
Brachyponera nakasujii''
(Yashiro, Matsuura, Guénard, Terayama & Dunn, 2010)
*''
Brachyponera nigrita''
(Emery, 1895)
*''
Brachyponera obscurans''
(Walker, 1859)
*''
Brachyponera pilidorsalis''
(Yamane, 2007)
*''
Brachyponera sennaarensis''
(Mayr, 1862)
*''
Brachyponera tianzun''
(Terayama, 2009)
*''
Brachyponera wallacei''
(Yamane, 2007)
References
External links
*
Ponerinae
Ant genera
{{Ponerinae-stub