Tetramorium caespitum barabense

Tetramorium caespitum barabense
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Tetramorium
Species:	T. caespitum
Subspecies:	T. caespitum barabense
Trinomial name
Tetramorium caespitum barabense Ruzsky, 1925

The original description of this species states: “Head weakly shiny; dorsum of promesonotum very smooth (‘so znachitel'no sglazhennoi skul'pturoj’); sides of both waist segments fully smooth, furthermore postpetiole narrowed, having the width of petiole, from above flatter (‘sverkhu bolee ploskij’). Color light, head brownish-cinnamon, mesosoma brownish-yellowish; mandibles, scapes and tarsae yellow. Size 2.1-3 mm. Nesting in soil under a stone in rout sprouts of Stipa pennata, sunny tschernozem northeast of the health resort.” This description makes a synonymy with Tetramorium sibiricum unlikely. The weak sculpture of T. barabense rather points to Tetramorium caespitum or Tetramorium indocile as well as the mean ratio PpW/PeW which is 1.349 in T. sibiricum but 1.286 in T. caespitum and 1.284 in T. indocile. According to RADCHENKO (1992), types of T. barabense are unknown but, if they should be discovered, the taxon could turn out as senior synonym of T. indocile. The former taxon is considered here as incertae sedis as long as no conclusive species identification is possible. (Seifert, 2021)

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Russian Federation (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

Nomenclature

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

• barabense. Tetramorium caespitum var. barabensis Ruzsky, 1925a: 288 (w.) RUSSIA.

References

• Ruzsky, M. 1925a. Material on the fauna of the spa "Karachinskoe Ozero". Izv. Tomsk. Gos. Univ. 75: 283-290.
• Seifert, B. 2021. Surviving the winter: Tetramorium sibiricum n. sp., a new Central Siberian ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Osmia 9, 15–24 (doi:10.47446/osmia9.3).