Acanthoponera Mayr

Type Species Acanthoponera mucronata (Roger)

Diagnosis (Females): Ants of comparatively medium size (head width 0.90–1.61, head length 1.00–1.75). Mandible triangular. Palp formula 6,4. Frontal lobe reduced, only partially covering antennal insertions. Antennal club with four antennomeres. Antennal scrobe deeply impressed. Eye well-developed, with clear limits between ommatidia. Propodeum with a pair of welldeveloped spines. Tarsal claw with conspicuous preapical teeth and a basal lobe. Petiole with a long posterodorsal projection. Anterior face of abdominal segment III with an arched carina above the helcium.

Tribe Heteroponerini Bolton new combination

Diagnosis: Ectatommine ants of small to medium size (head width 0.42–1.61 mm, head length 0.53–1.75 mm); cephalic dorsum with a longitudinal carina extending from anterior margin of clypeus to posterior margin of head (Bolton 2003); antennal scrobe present (Bolton 2003); eye present; acetabulum of antennal socket apparatus hemispherical (Keller 2011); accessory chamber of antennal socket absent (Keller 2011); labial palp with three or four palpomeres (Bolton 2003, Keller 2011); promesonotal suture complete and flexible (Bolton 2003); ventral flap on metapleural gland opening absent (Keller 2011); metacoxal cavity closed (Bolton 2003); petiolar sternite articulated with tergite over its entire length (Bolton 2003, Keller 2011); laterotergites of petiole present.

new genus

Species: goeldii, minor, mucronata, and peruviana.

Distribution: Exclusively Neotropical, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.

Notes: Acanthoponera represents a lineage of arboreal and nocturnal Neotropical ants. Most species can be identified using the work of Feitosa and Prada-Achiardi (2019) for the Colombian fauna.