Tetramorium Explained

Tetramorium is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species. These ants are also known as pavement ants.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Tetramorium was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1855 in the same publication as Monomorium.

Revision within the genus by Wagner et al. in 2017 recognized a complex of 10 cryptic species, 3 of which were raised from subspecies classifications and 2 of which were newly described. This revision also elevated the pavement ant introduced to North America as the species T. immigrans rather than the previous designation as a subspecies of T. caespitum. These 10 species in the T. caespitum complex are as follows:

Description

Workers of most species have a ridged clypeus, an appendaged stinger, mandibles with 3 or 4 teeth, and antennae with 11 or 12 segments or with 3-segmented clubs on the tips. The genus is divided into several species groups defined by various characters.

Distribution

Most species are distributed throughout the Afrotropical and Indomalayan realms. Ten species have been recorded from Japan. One species of pavement ant, T. immigrans, is native to Europe and was probably introduced to North America starting in the 18th century.[1]

Biology

Most known species nest in the soil, in decaying wood, or in leaf litter. Some live in trees or in termite nests.

Species

External links

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Jacobs, S. Pavement Ant. Penn State Extension. 2014.

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