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Tetramorium

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Tetramorium
Tetramorium caespitum worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Tetramorium
Mayr, 1855
Diversity
> 520 species
Synonyms

Apomyrmex Calilung, 2000
Atopula Emery, 1912
Decamorium Forel, 1913
Lobomyrmex Kratochvíl, 1941
Macromischoides Wheeler, 1920
Tetrogmus Roger, 1857
Triglyphothrix Forel, 1890
Xiphomyrmex Forel, 1887 Teleutomyrmex

Tetramorium is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species.[1][2] These ants are also known as pavement ants.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

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Tetramorium was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1855 in the same publication as Monomorium.[3]

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:[4]

Description

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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.[2] The genus is divided into several species groups defined by various characters.[2]

Distribution

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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.[5][4]

Biology

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Most known species nest in the soil, in decaying wood, or in leaf litter. Some live in trees or in termite nests.[2]

Species

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T. fulviceps
T. sericeiventre
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References

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  1. ^ Bolton, B. (2014). "Tetramorium". AntCat. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e Sharaf, Aldawood, Taylor (2012). "A New Ant Species of the Genus Tetramorium Mayr, 1855 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia, with a Revised Key to the Arabian Species". PLOS ONE. 7 (2): e30811. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...730811S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030811. PMC 3289629. PMID 22389667.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Mayr, G. (1855): Formicina austriaca. Beschreibung der bisher im österreichischen Kaiserstaate aufgefundenen Ameisen nebst Hinzufügung jener in Deutschland, in der Schweiz und in Italien vorkommenden Ameisen. Verhandlungen des Zoologisch-Botanischen Vereins in Wien 5: 273-478.
  4. ^ a b Wagner, Herbert; Seifert, Bernhard; Muster, Christoph; Schlick-Steiner, Birgit; et al. (2017). "Light at the end of the tunnel: Integrative taxonomy delimits cryptic species in the Tetramorium caespitum complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" (PDF). Myrmecological News. 25. S2CID 163158395. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-25.
  5. ^ Jacobs, S. Pavement Ant. Penn State Extension. 2014.
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Further reading

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