Acanthoponera is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Heteroponerinae. Acanthoponera contains six (one is indeterminate, and one is a morphotaxon) rarely collected species and a fifth unnamed species mentioned by Brown (1958) only known from a stray gyne.
Acanthoponera is a genus of ants from the New World, distributed from Mexico to Argentina (approximately). Specimens have been observed in wooded areas.
Medium size in workers (5-10mm) pale yellow color in its majority, large convex eyes and shallow antennal brooms. The propodeum bears a pair of teeth or spines (long and slender in worker), and the apex of the petiole node occurs dorsocaudally as a thin subconical spine with a more or less sharp point. The tarsal claws are very well developed and each bears not only a strong submedian tooth, but also a prominent narrow lobe resembling a third tooth.
• Count of antennal segments: 12 • Antennal club: 4-5 • Palp formula: 6.4 • Total tooth count: 6-9