Parvaponera Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014

Taxonomy. The genus Parvaponera was established by Shattuck & Schmidt (2014) under the Ponera genus group of the tribe Ponerini .

Morphology. According to Schmidt & Shattuck (2014), the worker of the Vietnamese species may show the following features:

Worker monomorphic; body small and slender, finely punctate, covered with dense pubescence, and sparsely with standing hairs; mandibles triangular, lacking a basal groove or pit; clypeus with a central tooth or short projection; frontal lobes moderately small; eyes small in size (consisting of 2–4 ommatidia) or absent, located fairly anterior on head; mesopleuron lacking a transverse groove; metanotal groove present or absent; propodeum not narrowed dorsally; orifice of propodeal spiracle elongate or slit-like; apicoventral part of hind tibiae with a simple spur in front of a large pectinate spur; outer surface of middle tibia with normal pilosity only; petiolar node squamiform; subpetiolar process triangular, with an anterior fenestra and/or a pair of teeth; girdling constriction between abdominal segments III and IV distinct; abdominal sternite III usually with a distinct anteroventral flange or ridge below helcium.

Differentiation. The worker of Parvaponera is most similar in general appearance to that of Cryptopone, but in the latter the outer surface of middle tibia bears thickened peg-like setae, and the subpetiolar process lacks an anterior fenestra and a pair of posteroventral teeth. It is also similar to that of Ponera, but in the latter the apex of metatibia ventrally has a large pectinate spur only.

Vietnamese species (1 sp.).

P. darwinii (Forel, 1893) . Zry (Cat Tien).

Bionomics. Unknown.