A Revision of the Ant Tribe Cardiocondylini (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) I. The Genus Prosopidris Wheeler

This is the first of a series of papers revising the tribe Cardiocondylini, a group of small myrmicine ants (up to 3.o mm in length), characterized by the possession of a pedunculate: petiole, a wide postpetiolar dorsum, propodeal spines, and a general lack of pilosity. The tribe currently embraces the genera Cardiocondyla Emery (virtually cosmopolitan, mainly Old World), Xenometra Emery (West Indian) and Prosopidris (Papuasian). Xenometra includes a single poorly known species which is apparently parasitic on Cardiocondyla emeryi (Emery, I917). Cardiocondyla and Prosopidris are free living, and form small inconspicuous colonies: usually in the soil or in rotting logs. In this contribution Wheeler’s subgenus Cardiocondyla (Prosopidris) is elevated to full generic status. The worker and female, types of its single previously known species, P. sima Wheeler (Philippines), are redescribed and a second species, P. PaDuana (New Guinea), is newly described. The papuana material includes the first known male of the genus, along with females and workers. T’he male is highly ergatoid, like those of some Cardiocondyla species. Measurements and Indices: In order to characterize properly cardiocondyline ants the following measurements and indices (with their abbreviations) will be used in this and succeeding papers: Head Length (HL) Maximum length of head in frontal view from clypeal apex to posterior border of occiput. Head Width (HW)Width of head measured in frontal view immediately behind the eyes. Scape Length (SL) Maximum measurable length of scape, not including its articular condyle. Weber’s Length (WL) Weber’s length of mesosoma (--alltrunk), measured in lateral view along a line connecting the place where the pronoturn joins the cervix and the apices of the