Stings of Ants of the Tribe Ectatommini (Formicidae: Ponerinae)

Abstract

The sting apparatus anatomy is described and compared for 24 species in six of the 9 extant genera of Ectatomminim: Paraponera, Acanthoponera, Gnamptogenys, Ectatomma, Proceratium, and Discothyrea. Phylogenetic analysis sorts 15 species of Gnamptogenys into four species groups. Phylogenetic analyses on the six ectatommine genera suggest that: 1) Gnamptogenys and Ectatomma are sister genera, 2) Proceratium and Discothyrea are sister genera, 3) Acanthoponera may be more related to Gnamptogenys and Ectatomma than to the others, and 4) Paraponera may not belong with the other five genera.