Subfamily Ophioninae



Please see the American Entomological Institute Ophioninae pagefor a throrough introduction to Ophioninae. It includes a wealth of information on ophionine diversity, classification, biology, morphology, and identification resources.

Mandible morphology Head modifications Female antennae Male antennae Anterior propodeal process Propodeal carination Propodeal bump Polished "boss" Amblypygy vs oxypygy Postpetiole sculpture Gastrocoelus and thyridium Color characters Antennal banding Hind tibia banding Median field

  • clypeus usually flat with straight ventral margin (convex in Platylabini, Trogus, Hoplismenus and a few other genera)
  • areolet usually pentagonal (infrequently quadrangular or open posteriorly)
  • metasomal tergite 1 with spiracle past midpoint of segment
  • metasomal tergite 2 usually with gastrocoelus
  • ovipositor short (usually not projecting past metasomal apex)
  • male flagellum often with tyloids or sometimes bristleridges

An excellent, well-illustrated key to the New World genera of Ophioninae can be found at the American Entomological Institute website. The PDFs of the key and the figures are found near the bottom of the page.
























The following generic key is still in development. It is meant to be maximally useful for non-experts and thus focuses on more easily visible characters.



1. Hind leg black except for brownish-red femur. Habitus as in image below . . . . Limonethe maurator (common in open fields)
Limonethe



1. Mandible unidentate and sickle-shaped . . . . 2

- Mandible bidentate (ventral tooth at least represented by small notch) . . . . 3

2. Gastrocoeli and thyridia wider than interthyridial width. Scutellum strongly raised above postscutellum . . . . Heterischnus (present throughout North America)

- Gastrocoeli and thyridia narrow and subobsolete. Scutellum nearly flat and not significantly raised above postscutellum . . . . Stenodontus (present at higher latitudes, high elevation sites in the southeastern U.S., and in southeastern Arizona and Mexico)

3. 3rs-m of fore wing absent (areolet open apically) . . . . Epitomus (several undescribed species present in North America despite genus unrecorded from Nearctic)

- 3rs-m of fore wing present (areolet pentagonal) . . . . 4

4. Gastrocoeli and thyridia absent . . . . 5

- Gastrocoeli and thyridia present . . . . 8

5. Areola heart-shaped. Overall color usually black . . . . Dicaelotus

- Areola coffin-shaped or rectangular. Predominantly brownish-red, . . . . 6

6. Female metasomal apex amblypygous. Female mandible enlarged. . . . Colpognathus

- Female metasomal apex oxypygous. Female mandible of normal width. . . . 7

7. Body elongated. Surface sculpture overall granulate. . . . Eparces (Northeastern U.S. and costal regions of south GA to south FL).



- Body of normal dimensions. Surface sculpture variable but with at least moderate punctation . . . . Centeterus (throughout North America)

8. Postpetiole coarsely, densely punctate . . . . Herpestomus

- Postpetiole varing from smooth to longitudinally rugulose. . . . 9

9. Gastrocoeli and thyridia narrow (thyridium narrower than interthyridial width). Female with 7th tergite constricted anteriorly. Mandible with ventral tooth reduced to small notch. . . . Jethsura

- Gastrocoeli and thyridia wide (single thyridium greater than interthyridial width). Mandible with ventral tooth not significantly reduced. . . . 10

10. Female with large projection on ventral surface of hind coxa formed by the juncture of two carinae. Ventral surface of clypeus roughened medially. . . . . Dirophanes

- Female with or without hind coxal projection but if present then never carinate. Ventral surface of clypeus either smooth or punctate but never roughened.i. . . . 11

11. Ventral margin of clypeus wide and punctate. . . . Phaeogenes - Ventral margin of clypeus smooth and always without punctures . . . 12 12. Carina immediately behind mandible strongly elevated resulting in a deeply excavated area posterior to mandible. Clypeus sharply impressed. Scutellum flat (not raised above postscutellum). Head wide and transverse . . . Aethecerus

- Scutellum usually at least weakly convex and partially raised above postscutellum (some Tycherus with a entirely flat scutellum). Head normally about as wide as long (some Tycherus with wide transverse heads). . . . 12

13. Head strongly convex anteriorly. Epistomal suture absent (supraclypeal area and clypeus forming smooth uninterrupted surface). Ventral margin of of clypeus sharply impressed (resulting in what appears to be a double margin) . . . Diadromus

- Head weakly convex anteriorly. Epistomal suture present. Ventral margin of clypeus variable not impressed. . . . 13

14. Ovipositor projecting significantly past metasomal apex. Surface scultpure granulate and impunctate. . . . Tereberella (rare)

- Ovipositor not significantly projecting past metasomal apex. Surface sculpture at least partially punctate. . . .14

15 . . . . Phaeogenes

- . . . . Tycherus

Genera by species richness

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For each genus, species originally described there (blue) vs. transferred in from another genus (orange). Percentage shown inside orange bar when space allows.

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