Ponera coarctata
From Csősz & Seifert (2003) [1]
Worker – Average body length 3.0–3.5 mm. Colour darker; brown to dark brown, somewhat brownish black. Mandibles triangular, with 3 apical teeth at the tip of the masticatory border, followed by a regular series of 9–14 minute denticles. Clypeus slightly produced anteriorly, with a rather distinctly raised longitudinal carina. Whole body covered with thick decumbent hairs. Head strongly punctured, the frontal furrow generally reaches the middle part of head. Eyes small, with 1–5 minute facetes. Scape with subdecumbent and suberect hairs. Tibiae with decumbent, or subdecumbent hairs. Alitrunk relatively higher than in testacea. Mesonotal furrow between the mesonotum and anepisternum well developed. Petiole higher and more scale-like than in testacea, the anterior and posterior profiles running subparallel. The subpetiolar tooth-like process small but distinct, frequently not forming a well-developed triangular projection down- and backward; subpetiolar fenestra small. First gaster tergite with dense hairs. Average distance of the fine cuticular points on the first gaster tergite 19.4 μm [17.2–21.8 μm]. Overall pigmentation in mature specimens significantly darker than in testacea.
Whole nest populations with all individuals light brown are unknown. For morphometric measurements of altogether 146 workers see Table 1.
Gyne – Similar to the worker. Average body length over 3.5 mm. Colour darker, brown to dark brown somewhat black. Whole body with thick decumbent hairs. Scape with subdecumbent and suberect hairs. Tibiae with decumbent hairs. Metanotal furrow between the katepisternum and anepisternum well-developed and always visible. Petiole high and scale-like in profile. The subpetiolar tooth-like process frequently not forming a well-developed caudoventral triangular projection. First gaster tergite with dense hairs, similar to the worker.
Male – Average body length over 3.00 mm. Colour always black. Whole body with numerous thick decumbent hairs. Head with dense long hairs. Eyes with long hairs among the facetes. Alitrunk more robust inprofile view thaninits sibling species
References
- , “Ponera testacea Emery, 1895 stat. n.–a sister species of P. coarctata (Latreille, 1802)(Hymenoptera, Formicidae)”, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae , vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 201-214, 2003.