[2] The genus can be recognized by the combination of having nine antennal segments (fewer than most ants) and the petiole concealed by the gaster in dorsal view.

[3][4] The genus has a mainly Neotropical distribution, ranging from the United States to Argentina and Chile, including the Caribbean islands, but some species have been introduced to Japan, and Madagascar.

Bryscha species have legs and antennae with erect hairs and the second segment of the antennal funiculus is as long as or longer than the first.

Brown (1973) provisionally synonymized it under Brachymyrmex and Bolton (1995, 2014) accepted this synonymy in his catalogues without substantiating the decision.

[5] A study towards a revision of the genus was published in 2019 by Ortiz-Sepuvelda et al., taking morphological and molecular factors into account to reorganize many species and subspecies into new boundaries.