Tribe Platythyreini Emery

Platythyrei Emery, 1901: 36 (as tribe of Ponerinae). Type genus: Platythyrea Roger, 1863a: 172. Emery, 1911: 28 (Platythyreini).

Tribe Platythyreini contains the single genus Platythyrea Roger. These ants are notable for their arboreal habits and frequent (probably nearly universal) presence of gamergate workers.

Diagnosis. See the diagnosis and synoptic description under Platythyrea below.

Discussion. The deep separation between Platythyrea and Ponerini has been recognized at least since Emery (1901), who placed Platythyrea in its own tribe Platythyrei (later renamed Platythyreini; Emery, 1911). Two sources of taxonomic confusion have arisen since Emery’s original designation of tribal status: the proper location of Probolomyrmex and the status of Eubothroponera. Probolomyrmex Mayr superficially resembles Platythyrea in overall gestalt and in the presence of pruinose sculpturing, though there are many major differences between them. It has been placed by some authors within Platythyreini (e.g., Brown, 1952, and most subsequent authors), though Perrault (2000) placed it in its own subfamily, Probolomyrmecinae. Bolton (2003) moved Probolomyrmex to its own tribe within Proceratiinae; many early authors had placed the genus in tribe Proceratiini of that subfamily (e.g., Emery, 1911). Molecular phylogenetic evidence (e.g., Moreau et al., 2006; Brady et al., 2006; Schmidt, 2013) confirms the placement of Probolomyrmex within Proceratiinae and demonstrates that its superficial similarity to Platythyrea is likely the result of convergence. See the discussion under Platythyrea (below) for a consideration of Eubothroponera Clark, a genus confirmed here as a junior synonym of Platythyrea.