Threat Level: Low

Odontomachus simillimus is the most recognizable ant featured in PIAkey. At over 6mm long, it is easily spotted in the field. The linear mandibles of this species make it a "trap-jaw" ant because when a suitable prey triggers them to close, it is killed or stunned by the incredible force exerted by the mandibles when they snap shut. Other features distinctive to Odontomachus simillimus are the unusual shape of the head, and the thin spine developed from the dorsum of the petiolar node.

The other Ponerine species included in PIAkey all bear triangular mandibles, and their heads are oval shaped, with the maximum width achieved posterior to the eyes. Strumigenys is the only other PIAkey genus with linear mandibles, and those are minute, pale species with two-segmented waists and triangular heads.

Odontomachus simillimus is a solitary hunter that rarely recruits nestmates to food resources or baits. Although the species is not a significant threat to environmental or agricultural systems, it occurs in disturbed habitats and has a very painful sting.

Waist with one segment (petiole)
Gaster armed with sting
Mandibles long and linear

	O. simillimus	Hypoponera	Pachycondyla	Strumigenys
Head
Profile
Waist segments	one (petiole)	one (petiole)	one (petiole)	two (petiole & postpetiole)
Mandibles	linear	triangular	triangular	linear
Size	large (>5mm)	moderate (>3mm)	large (>5mm)	small (~2mm)
	O. simillimus	Hypoponera	Pachycondyla	Strumigenys

• Antweb: specimen images, data & maps
  
  
• Bolton, B. (1995) A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 504 pp.
  
  
• Wilson, E.O. & Taylor, R.W. (1967) The ants of Polynesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pacific Insects Monograph, 14, 1-109.