Euprenolepis

LaPolla, J. S., Brady, S. G. & Shattuck, S. O., 2010, Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus-group of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)., Systematic Entomology 35, pp. 118-131 : 124-125

Euprenolepis

Figures of worker. Head: Fig. 5A ( major ) and Fig. 5B ( minor ); mesosoma: Fig. 6A ( major ), Fig. 6B ( minor ); mandible: Fig. 7A ( major ).

Synopsis of taxonomic history (for full description see Bolton et al., 2006): Euprenolepis Emery, 1906: 134 . As subgenus of Prenolepis . Euprenolepis as subgenus of Paratrechina, Emery, 1925: 223 ; Euprenolepis raised to genus and senior synonym of Chapmanella, Brown, 1953: 6. Type species: Prenolepis (Euprenolepis) procera , by original description.

Diagnosis. Mandible with 5 teeth; basal tooth with an obtuse angle on the inner mandibular margin (one known exception E. negrosensis , in which basal tooth is roughly quadriform relative to inner mandibular margin); mandalus large and conspicuous; maxillary palps 3-segmented; labial palps 4-segmented. Eyes typically well developed and placed more anteriorly of midlength of head. Mesothorax constricted immediately behind pronotum. Erect setae on dorsum of head randomly placed; anterior portion of head slightly wider than preceding portion and flattened slightly; erect setae present on scapes, legs and dorsum of mesosoma, including propodeum; propodeum with a high-domed dorsal face; overall body shape long and slender.

Distribution. (Fig. 8A). This genus appears to be restricted to Southeastern Asia.

Notes. LaPolla (2009) recently revised the species-level taxonomy of this genus. In E. procera , workers are polymorphic with a major caste clearly expressed. In several

Euprenolepis species, however, the existence of worker polymorphism is unclear owing to the small number of available specimens ( LaPolla, 2009). Even among E. procera specimens collected from a variety of localities, relatively few larger workers have been found.

Species of Pseudolasius that possess 5 mandibular teeth, 4-segmented labial palps and have a constriction of the mesothorax immediately behind the pronotum can be difficult to separate from Euprenolepis species. Fortunately, few Pseudolasius species have this suite of morphological features. The most reliable morphological character to separate these two genera is the presence of larger eyes in Euprenolepis . All Pseudolasius have some reduction in eye size relative to most other Prenolepis genus-group species, and many Pseudolasius species display extreme eye reduction. All Euprenolepis , with the exception of E. negrosensis , have large eyes. In the case of E. negrosensis , all other morphological characters suggest its placement within the genus. Another character that separates the two genera is the condition of the mandalus. In Euprenolepis the mandalus (Fig. 7A) is large and conspicuous (often visible without dissection), usually at least 2× the size of the mandalus found in Pseudolasius .