The baltic amber ant genus Bradoponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with description of two new species and a reassessment of the Proceratiini genera

Two new species of Bradoponera are described from Baltic amber. B. wunderlichi sp. n. is described on a single dealate gyne and B. electrina sp. n. on a single worker. B. wunderlichi resembles in general body shape and sculpture the sole previously known species of the genus, B. meieri Mayr. B. wunderlichi differs from meieri mainly by the antennae, 9-jointed instead of 12-jointed and by its smaller size. B. electrina is the most distinctive Bradoponera species by possessing at least two autapomorphies, the body with suberect hairs and the petiole narrow and rectangular in profile. B. electrina shares with meieri the 12-jointed antennae but the two species differ considerably in body shape and size. Description of these new species and re-discovery of the genus Bradoponera allow a set of improvements to the classification of the Ponerinae which were needed but impossible before. Among the main taxonomic conclusions made possible by the examination of Bradoponera material are, the first definition of a monophyletic ponerine clade corresponding to the "classic" tribe Proceratiini and characterization of its three component genera Proceratium, Discothyrea, and Bradoponera by at least one autapomorphy each.