Adelomyrmex

Fernández, F., 2003, Revision of the myrmicine ants of the Adelomyrmex genus-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)., Zootaxa 361, pp. 1-52 : 3

[[ Adelomyrmex genus-group ]]

The genus Adelomyrmex is known from the Neotropical and Australian-Pacific Regions with 12 described species (Bolton, 1995; Fernández & MacKay, 2003), while Baracidris (Bolton , 1981) is a genus with 2 described species from Central and Western Africa. Bolton (1981) suggested that Baracidris is close to Adelomyrmex , based on the shared possession of antennae 12 segmented with 2 segmented club, and established the differences between both taxa. However, this suggested proximity was not reflected in the classification of the subfamily.

I propose that both genera form a monophyletic group and I redescribe Adelomyrmex . A revision of all known species of the group is provided, including the description of new species.

TAXONOMIC HISTORY

The taxonomic history of the group is short. Emery (1897) proposed Adelomyrmex to acommodate a single species, A. biroi from New Guinea. Wheeler (1910) described the genus Apsychomyrmex for a Mesoamerican species, A. myops . Smith (1947) later reviewed this genus. Kempf (1972) placed Apsychomyrmex as a junior synonym of Adelomyrmex . Mann (1921) proposed Arctomyrmex as a subgenus of Adelomyrmex , a name synonymized under Adelomyrmex by Bolton (1994). Bolton (1981) described Baracidris and suggested its close relationship with Adelomyrmex .

Forel (1917) placed Adelomyrmex and Apsychomyrmex in the tribe Leptothoracini . Kempf (1972) put Adelomyrmex in the tribe Leptothoracini ; Hölldobler & Wilson (1990) left Adelomyrmex and Baracidris without tribal assignation, and Bolton (1994) placed both genera provisionally in Stenammini .