Tetramorium basum

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Tetramorium basum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Tetramorium
Species: T. basum
Binomial name
Tetramorium basum
Bolton, 1977

Tetramorium basum casent0901082 p 1 high.jpg

Tetramorium basum casent0901082 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Nothing is known about the biology of Tetramorium basum.

Identification

Bolton (1977) - In the ornatum-group two species are presently known in which the spaces between the carinate cephalic sculpture are filled with dense puncturation. T. basum is one of these, the other being Tetramorium rigidum. The two are separable as in rigidum there are a number of conspicuous cross-meshes between the longitudinal carinae of the head, absent in basum, and the gaster is uniformly coloured in rigidum, without the basal yellow area seen in basum.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -6.534691° to -6.534691°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea (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

Nomenclature

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

  • basum. Tetramorium basum Bolton, 1977: 104, fig. 30 (w.) NEW GUINEA.

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

Description

Worker

Holotype. TL 3.2, HL 0.74, HW 0.66, CI 89, SL 0.56, SI 85, PW 0.48, AL 0.90.

Mandibles striate, anterior clypeal margin convex and entire. Frontal carinae extending back beyond the posterior margin of the eyes but then broken or interrupted, their place taken by the coarse longitudinal sculpture which is as strongly developed as the frontal carinae and which extends back to the occipital margin. Maximum diameter of eye c. 0.14. Occipital margin of head broadly but shallowly concave in full-face view, the sides of the head only very feebly convex. Propodeal spines very long, narrow and acute, elevated and downcurved along their length. Metapleural lobes broad basally but quickly narrowing to an elongate acute point. Petiole in profile with a long, downcurved anterior peduncle, shape of the node as shown in Fig. 30. Clypeus with five main longitudinal carinae and with other shorter, weaker carinae present. Dorsum of head densely sculptured with regular coarse longitudinal carinae without cross-meshes of any sort, the spaces between the carinae filled with a dense and very conspicuous reticulate-puncturation. Dorsal alitrunk with a rugoreticulum, the meshes small and the spaces which they enclose with some puncturation which is much weaker than that seen on the head. Petiole with longitudinal rugae which are oblique and spaced out on the sides but more close-packed dorsally. Postpetiole and gaster unsculptured, smooth and shining. Fine hairs present on all dorsal surfaces of head and body. Dorsal (outer) surfaces of hind tibiae with short subdecumbent or decumbent hairs which are much shorter than the maximum tibial width. Colour reddish brown, the appendages yellow or yellow-brown. First gastral tergite with the basal third yellow, the remainder blackish brown.

Paratype. As holotype but slightly smaller, TL 2.9, HL 0.70, HW 0.64, CI 91, SL 0.52, SI 81, PW 0.46, AL 0.84.

Type Material

Holotype worker, New Guinea: Mongi Watershed, Huon Pen., Wamuki, 19-20.iv.1955, 800 m, no. 846 (E. O. Wilson) (Museum of Comparative Zoology). Paratype. 1 worker with same data as holotype (The Natural History Museum).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton B. 1977. The ant tribe Tetramoriini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The genus Tetramorium Mayr in the Oriental and Indo-Australian regions, and in Australia. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 36:67-151.
  • Bolton, B. "The ant tribe Tetramoriini (Hymenoptera: Formicinae. The genus Tetramorium Mayr in the Oriental and Indo-Australian regions and in Australia." Bulletin of the British Museum (National History): Entomology series 36, no. 2 (1977): 68-151.
  • Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.