Probolomyrmex

Eguchi, K., Yoshimura, M. & Yamane, S., 2006, The Oriental species of the ant genus Probolomyrmex (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Proceratiinae)., Zootaxa 1376, pp. 1-35 : 2

The ant genus Probolomyrmex is the only genus-rank taxon of the tribe Probolomyrmecini under the subfamily Proceratiinae (Bolton, 2003). The members of the genus share the following characteristics in the worker: body hairless but with extremely fine pubescence, micro-punctate, overlain by scattered foveolae; antennal socket located on shelf-like frontoclypeal region that overhangs the mandibles; mandible small, elongate-triangular, with acute apical tooth followed by a series of small denticles; outer surface of mandible with several thick and short setae; promesonotal suture and metanotal groove absent; abdominal tergite IV not vaulted and sternite IV not reduced (different from the members of the tribe Proceratiini ) (see also Taylor, 1965; Bolton, 2003). The antenna is 12- segmented in the worker and queen, and 13-segmented in the male. The mesosoma is unreduced in the queen.

The genus is circumtropical/subtropical in distribution: four species are Neotropical, three Ethiopian, two Australian, and seven Oriental (Bolton, 1995; Agosti, 1995; O'Keefe & Agosti, 1998; Xu & Zeng, 2000). In the course of our study on ant faunas of various areas of the Oriental Region, we have examined new material of this rare genus. In the present paper, we describe three new species, and the male and/or queen of P. dammermani , longinodus , longiscapus and watanabei .