''Dinoponera mutica'' is a queenless

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Ponerinae Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including '' Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replac ...

Description

''Dinoponera mutica'' workers can be identified by their smooth and shiny integument with a bluish luster, a rounded pronotal corner lacking a tooth-like process, gular striations on the ventral surface of the head, long and flagellate pubescence, scape length longer than head width and

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

with even dorsal corners. Males are unknown.

Distribution

''Dinoponera mutica'' is found in central

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in the Brazilian states of

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

, Goias and

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

, in eastern

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and northwest

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Taxonomy

Dinoponera quadriceps ''Dinoponera quadriceps'' is a queenless species of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The species, known from Brazil, is similar to '' Dinoponera mutica'' and uses venom for subduing large live prey and defense. Its venom could be of use to the ph ...

'' is the species closest to ''Dinoponera mutica'' in terms of morphological characters. ''Dinoponera quadriceps'' has a finely micro-sculptured integument which is not shiny, lacks gular striations and has a petiole which bulges on the dorso-anterior edge. ''

Dinoponera longipes ''Dinoponera longipes'' is a queenless species of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. Distribution ''Dinoponera longipe''s have been collected in eastern Peru in the departments of Loreto, Amazonas, Huánuco, San Martín and Pasco, as well as E ...

'' and '' Dinoponera hispida'' may also be confused with ''Dinoponera mutica'' but this species lacks the dense golden pubescence of the former, or the short, stiff

setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae ...

and forward bulging petiole of the latter.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3688002 Ponerinae Insects described in 1901 Hymenoptera of South America