Tetramorium keralense

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Tetramorium keralense
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Tetramorium
Species group: tortuosum
Species: T. keralense
Binomial name
Tetramorium keralense
Sheela & Narendran, 1998

Nothing is known about the biology of Tetramorium keralense.

Identification

Sheela and Narendran (1998) - This species comes close to Tetramorium yerburyi in the presence of long propodeal spines, and rounded pronotal angles. But it differs from yerburyi in (1) petiole and postpetiole punctate (Petiole and postpetiole rugose and reticulate in yerburyi (2) anterior and dorsal surfaces of petiole node not meet in a sharply defined right angle (anterior and dorsal surfaces of petiole node meet in a sharply defined right angle in yerburyi (3) size under 4mm (size above 4mm in yerburyi).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Worker

Tetramorium keralensis 7.jpg
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Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • keralense. Tetramorium keralensis Sheela & Narendran, 1998a: 39, figs. 4-7 (w.) INDIA.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Holotype. Head finely reticulate, including, ventral side except mid dorsal line, occipital margin widely emarginate in fullface view; mandible striate, masticatory margin with three acute apical teeth followed by two or three widely spaced small denticles towards base, basalmost part without teeth; dypeus convex with a strong median longitudinal carina and two feeble lateral carinae; anterior clypeal margin entire, arched, with an anterior flange; frontal area depressed but not clearly defined, frontal carinae distinct reaching up to occipital corners; posterior margin of frontal groove not distinct, scrobe finely punctate with two or three weak transverse striae just above antennal insertions and a few weak rugae backwards; eyes dorsal margin arched, ventral margin almost straight, lateral, prominent, placed on transverse mid line. Antennae 11-jointed, scape reaching upto occipital margin; lst flagellar segment elongate, second subequal, 3rd and 4th transverse, 5-6 subequal, 7th elongate club thick, formed of apical three joints, terminal club segment longer than preceding two together (19:15) ; club distinctly longer than remaining flagellar segments together (34:29.5); longest hairs on frontal carinae shorter than diameter of eye.

Thorax: dorsally finely reticulate, lateral portions not much strongly reticulate as dorsal; anteriorly broad, narrowing posteriorly; pro, meso and metanotum together forming a single convexity, sutures absent on dorsum of thorax, pronotum anteriorly produced into a short neck, anterolateral corners of pronotum rounded, not angular; propodeal spines long, stout, its length 2.6x its basal width and 6x distance between bases; spines curved slightly inwards but diverging from base, spine length: peduncle of petiole (9:6); propodeal spiracles large, situated just below base of spines; metapleural lobes short, rounded, not acute at apex; legs slender, elongate, smooth at base, fore coxae shagreened, mid and hind tibiae with simple, weak spur.

Abdomen: Petiole and postpetiole finely minutely punctate, peduncle of petiole smooth, polished, petiole node with a few faint reticulations, peduncle of petiole curved in front, node quadrate, a little higher than long, dorsally longer than broad, a little longer than anterior penduncle (7:6); post petiole broader than long, rounded, globose, lower in a level than petiole, anterior and posterior faces of petiole almost parallel, above nearly convex. Gaster smooth, polished and shining, somewhat globose, junction of postpetiole and gaster except mid ventral portion with cross ridges, first tergite covering more than 3/4 its total length; sting with lamelliform appendage spatulate, projecting at an angle from shaft.

Head, thorax, antennae, mandibles, legs and pedicel uniformly ferrugino-testaceous, gaster blackish brown; head and thorax with erect, pedicel and gaster with suberect, rather sparse, brownish ye!low blunt setae; legs and antennae with appressed small hairs, femora with one or two erect silvery hairs of moperate length sub-basally.

Total length-3.86mm; Head length- 0.80mm; Head width-0.74mm; Cephalic index-93; Eye diameter-0.18mm; Scape length-0.65mm; Scape index-88; Pronotal width-0.59mm; Ali trunk length-1.02mm.

Type Material

Holotype: Worker, India: Kerala, Peruvannamuzhi, Sheela S, 17.1.1995; Department of Zoology, University of Calicut. Paratype: 1 worker, India: Kerala, Iravikulam, K. C. Gopi, 1 0.3.1994.

Etymology

The species name keralensis is given after its locality Kerala.

References