Ponerini

Ponerini
Fighting Harpegnathos saltator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae
Tribe:	Ponerini Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835
Genera
See text
Diversity
61 genera

Ponerini is a tribe of ponerine ants with 46 genera and 6 extinct genera. ^[1] It contains every ponerine genus except Platythyrea , which is placed in its own tribe Platythyreini. ^[2]

Genera

Extant

Pachycondyla genus group

• Belonopelta Mayr, 1870
• Dinoponera Roger, 186
• Mayaponera Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Neoponera Emery, 1901
• Pachycondyla Smith, 1858
• Rasopone Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Simopelta Mann, 1922
• Thaumatomyrmex Mayr, 1887

Ponera genus group

• Austroponera Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Corrieopone Esteves & Fisher, 2021
• Diacamma Mayr, 1862
• Ectomomyrmex Mayr, 1867
• Emeryopone Forel, 1912
• Parvaponera Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Ponera Latreille, 1804
• Pseudoponera Emery, 1900
• Sritoponera Fisher et al. 2025
• Wadeura Weber, 1939

Odontomachus genus group

• Anochetus Mayr, 1861
• Asphinctopone Santschi, 1914
• Boltonopone Fisher et al. 2025
• Bothroponera Mayr, 1862
• Brachyponera Emery, 1900
• Buniapone Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Cryptopone Emery, 1893
• Dolioponera Brown, 1974
• Euponera Forel, 1891
• Feroponera Bolton & Fisher, 2008
• Fisheropone Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014
• Hagensia Forel, 1901
• Leptogenys Roger, 1861
• Makebapone Fisher et al. 2025
• Megaponera Mayr, 1862
• Mesoponera Emery, 1900
• Myopias Roger, 1861
• Odontomachus Latreille, 1804
• Odontoponera Mayr, 1862
• Ophthalmopone Forel, 1890
• Paltothyreus Mayr, 1862
• Phrynoponera Wheeler, 1920
• Promyopias Santschi, 1914
• Pseudoneoponera Donisthorpe, 1943
• Streblognathus Mayr, 1862
• Subiridopone Fisher et al. 2025
• Xiphopelta Forel, 1913

Harpegnathos genus group

• Harpegnathos Jerdon, 1851

Hypoponera genus group

• Hypoponera Santschi, 1938

Plectroctena genus group

• Boloponera Fisher, 2006
• Centromyrmex Mayr, 1866
• Loboponera Bolton & Brown, 2002
• Plectroctena Smith, 1858
• Psalidomyrmex André, 1890

incertae sedis

• Igaponera Troya et al., 2022

Extinct

• † Archiponera Carpenter, 1930
• † Cephalopone Dlussky & Wedmann, 2012 ^[3]
• † Cyrtopone Dlussky & Wedmann, 2012 ^[3]
• † Desyopone Boudinot & Perrichot, 2022
• † Messelepone Dlussky & Wedmann, 2012 ^[3]
• † Ponerites Dlussky & Rasnitsyn, 2003
• † Protopone Dlussky, 1988 ^[3]
• † Siinikaponera Varela-Hernández et al., 2024

Phylogeny

The maximum-probability molecular cladogram of the tribe constructed by Fisher et al. in 2025 is shown here. All genera are represented except for Igaponera, which is only known from a single queen specimen. Six unofficial genus groups are recognized by the authors, namely the Pachycondyla, Ponera, Harpegnathos, Plectroctena, Hypoponera, and Odontomachus groups. ^[4] These genus groups are also referred to as alliances. ^[5]

Ponerini

Pachycondyla genus group Simopelta Belonopelta Thaumatomyrmex Mayaponera Rasopone Neoponera Dinoponera Pachycondyla Ponera genus group Diacamma Ponera Emeryopone Cryptopone Ectomomyrmex Austroponera Pseudoponera Sritoponera Parvaponera Wadeura Odontomachus genus group Unnamed genus [a] Odontomachus Anochetus Odontoponera Brachyponera Xiphopelta Hagensia Makebapone Fisheropone Feroponera Boltonopone Dolioponera Euponera Bothroponera Pseudoneoponera Streblognathus Phrynoponera Megaponera Ophthalmopone Mesoponera Myopias Leptogenys Subiridopone Asphinctopone Corrieopone Paltothyreus Buniapone Promyopias Harpegnathos genus group Harpegnathos Hypoponera genus group Hypoponera Plectroctena genus group Centromyrmex Psalidomyrmex Loboponera Boloponera Plectroctena

Notes

1. This monotypic genus currently contains the species currently known as Neoponera bucki , which is not a true Neoponera species, however it has not yet been formally described as of 2025.

References

1. Bolton, Barry. "An Online Catalog of the Ants of the World by Barry Bolton". antcat.org. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
2. Schmidt, Chris A.; Shattuck, Steven O. (18 June 2014). "The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior". Zootaxa. 3817 (1): 1–242. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1. PMID   24943802.
3. Dlussky, G.M.; Wedmann, S. (2012). "The poneromorph ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae: Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Ponerinae) of Grube Messel, Germany: High biodiversity in the Eocene". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 10 (4): 725–753. Bibcode:2012JSPal..10..725D. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.628341. S2CID   83928415. – via  Taylor & Francis (subscription required)
4. Fisher, Brian L.; Branstetter, Michael G.; Blaimer, Bonnie B.; Borowiec, Marek L.; Camacho, Gabriela P.; Doré, Maël; Ward, Philip S.; Longino, John T. (19 December 2025). "A genus-level classification of the ant subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)". ZooKeys (1264): 281–349. Bibcode:2025ZooK.1264..281F. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1264.173399 . PMC   12743250 . PMID   41458144.
5. Shattuck, Steven O. "Hypoponera". AntWiki. antwiki.org. Retrieved 27 February 2026.