Hypoponera javana ( Forel, 1905 )

Hypoponera javana ( Forel, 1905) View in CoL stat. n.

Ponera confinis var. javana Forel, 1905: 6 (w.q.)

Combination in Hypoponera View in CoL : Bolton, 1995: 215.

Subspecies of Hypoponera confinis : Forel, 1907a: 17; Forel, 1911a: 194; Emery,con 1911: 90; Wheeler, 1919: 57; Wheeler, 1924: 242; Wheeler & Chapman, 1925: 69; Wheeler, 1937: 21; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 69; Baltazar, 1966: 246; Bolton, 1995: 215; Pfeiffer et al., 2011: 56.

Material examined. Kent Ridge , 25 Apr 1985, D.H. Murphy leg., DHM-SG85- Hypo 4, ZRC _ ENT00027998 View Materials ; Mandai Lake Road, Northern Node , 1°24’36.5”N, 103°47’04.0”, 53 m, 18 Jul 2019, J.S. Tan & N.L . Chin leg., Winkler extraction, ZRC _ ENT00028303 View Materials ; queen and workers, Namly Avenue (kampong), 28 Apr 1985, D.H. Murphy leg., DHM-SG85- Hypo 3, ZRC _ ENT00027997 View Materials .

Material not physically examined. Unknown.

Literature. Forel (1907) [as Ponera confinis ja- vana].

Localities. Kent Ridge; Mandai Lake Road; Namly Avenue .

Habitat/Ecology. This species was found in young or mature secondary forest, often disturbed fragments in semi-urban settings close to man-made infrastructure. In one instance, the ants were found nesting under brick. Usually, individuals were collected from leaf litter and topsoil substrate.

Remarks. Hypoponera javana was originally described as a subspecies of H. confinis (then known as ‘ Ponera confinis’). Workers of both species appear very similar, but can be distinguished based on the following ( H. confinis characters in parentheses): 1) head wider with broadly convex sides, slightly narrowed anteriorly (head less wide with almost parallel sides, not narrowed anteriorly), 2) antennal scapes reaching posterior margin of head (antennal scapes not reaching posterior margin of head), 3) petiole shorter in dorsal view, thinner in profile (petiole longer and nearly reniform in dorsal view, thicker in profile), 4) propodeal dorsum relatively short, not much longer than wide, distinctly shorter than declivitous slope in profile (propodeal dorsum long, distinctly longer than wide, as long as or slightly longer than propodeal declivity).

The queen of H. javana can also be separated from that of H. confinis by its more distinctly angulate propodeal junction and longer, more sharply truncate propodeal slope.

Hypoponera javana View in CoL closely resembles Hypoponera singaporensis Viehmeyer, 1916 View in CoL stat. n., which was also originally described as a subspecies of H. confinis View in CoL . Differences between the two species are discussed under Remarks for H. singaporensis View in CoL .