There are only a few species of Neoponera in which the workers lack erect hairs on the dorsum of the mesosoma (Neoponera magnifica, Neoponera bucki, Neoponera apicalis, Neoponera obscuricornis and Neoponera verenae). However, in Neoponera apicalis, the tips of the antennae has a yellow to light brown funiculus. To narrow down identification, only Neoponera verenae , Neoponera apicalis and Neoponera obscuricornis have eyes that take up more than 1⁄3 of the side of the head. The difference between Neoponera obscuricornis and Neoponera verenae is that the posterior lateral margins of the petiole of N. verenae are sharp, those of N. obscuricornis are broadly rounded.