''Buniapone'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

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 ...

s in the subfamily

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 ...

. ''Buniapone amblyops'', the single described species, is found in Southern and Southeast Asia.

Etymology

Pachycondyla amblyops casent0172431 head 1

The genus name is derived from

orang bunian In Malaysian, Bruneian and Indonesian folklore, Bunian people or Orang bunian () are supernatural beings said to be invisible to most humans, except those with "spiritual sight". While the term is often translated as "elves", it literally transla ...

, supernatural forest-living beings in

Malay folklore Malay folklore refers to a series of knowledge, traditions and taboos that have been passed down through many generations in oral, written and symbolic forms among the indigenous populations of Maritime Southeast Asia ( Nusantara). They include ...

, with the suffix ''-pone'' from the name of subfamily.

Taxonomy

The genus was established by Schmidt & Shattuck (2014) to house the single species ''Ponera amblyops'' (at the time a junior synonym ''Pachycondyla amblyops''), which was first described by Emery (1887) from worker specimen from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

has a long and complicated taxonomic history, variously belonging to the genera ''

Ponera ''Ponera'' is a genus of ponerine ants. The name is the Latinized form (') of the Ancient Greek ' (, 'wicked, wretched'). Description Workers are very small to small in size (1–4 mm); queen are similar to workers but winged. This genus ...

'', ''Trapeziopelta'' (now '' Myopias''), ''

Belonopelta ''Belonopelta'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus contains two species: ''B. deletrix'' is known from Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most ...

'', ''

Pachycondyla ''Pachycondyla'' is a ponerine genus of ants found in the Neotropics. Distribution ''Pachycondyla'' is currently distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina, but some fossil species (e.g. '' P. eocenica'' and '' P. lutzi'') a ...

'', '' Pseudoponera'', '' Euponera'' and ''

''. One subspecies, ''B. amblyops oculatior'' from Indonesia, has been described.

Molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

by Schmidt (2013) resolved ''Buniapone'' as a

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to the strictly African genus '' Paltothyreus''.

Distribution

The genus is distributed in Southern and Southeast Asia, from China to Indonesia and India.

Description

Little is known about their biology, but they have a subterranean lifestyle and are thought to be predators, although not strictly carnivorous. Workers are medium in size (5.5–6.5 mm), orange-colored, and have long and narrow mandibles with seven teeth. Queens are similar to the workers, but larger (9.25 mm). ''Buniapone'' is morphologically similar to some ''

Cryptopone ''Cryptopone'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily 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 lar ...

'' and '' Promyopias'' species. However, ''Buniapone'' is more closely related to other species and the similarities are deemed to have evolved through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q19903632 Ponerinae Monotypic ant genera Hymenoptera of Asia