The Ants of Africa
SUBFAMILY AMBLYOPONINAE - Genus Mystrium
Contents - Amblyoponinae - Subfamily Amblyoponinae
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Genus Mystrium Roger (1862a: 245)

In Tribe AMBLYOPONINI

Diagnostic Features - Elongated mandibles, blunt at the apex, but longer than the head, with a double tooth-row on the inner margin. Sculpture coarse and with spatulate hairs on the head. Roger's (1962a) genus definition, of the queen, is at {original description}.

Hölldobler & Wilson (1990, page 569) note that members of the genus are among those ants which show a capacity to snap their jaws, probably as a defensive mechanism. The SEM illustration is an unnamed species shown in Bolton (1994).

Genus revised by Menozzi (1929d) but includes only one species from mainland Africa - silvestrii.

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© 2007 - Brian Taylor CBiol FIBiol FRES
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