Tapinoma melanocephalum

Identification
Distinctively bicoloured, head brown, alitrunk and gaster pale yellowish with variable brown patches; legs and antennae very pale. Prothorax laterally compressed, broadening anteriorly. Length: 1.5-2 mm. (Collingwood 1979)

Distribution
This taxon was described from French Guiana. It is also found in the Philippines, United States, Cuba, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Senegal, Philippines, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and New Caledonia.

Nomenclature

 *  melanocephalum. Formica melanocephala Fabricius, 1793: 353 (w.) FRENCH GUIANA. Emery, 1887a: 249 (m.); Forel, 1891b: 102 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 197 (l.); Crozier, 1970: 119 (k.). Combination in Micromyrma: Roger, 1862b: 258; in Tapinoma: Mayr, 1862: 651; in Tapinoma (Micromyrma): Santschi, 1928e: 475. Senior synonym of pellucida: Mayr, 1886c: 359; of nana: Emery, 1892b: 166; of familiaris: Forel, 1899c: 101; of australis: Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 80; of australe: Bolton, 1995b: 401. Current subspecies: nominal plus coronatum, malesianum. See also: Smith, D.R. 1979: 1421; Shattuck, 1994: 148.
 * nana. Formica nana Jerdon, 1851: 125 (w.) INDIA. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Formica nana Latreille, 1802c: 263.] Junior synonym of melanocephalum: Emery, 1892b: 166.
 * pellucida. Myrmica pellucida Smith, F. 1857a: 71 (w.) SINGAPORE. Junior synonym of melanocephalum: Mayr, 1886c: 359.
 * familiaris. Formica familiaris Smith, F. 1860b: 96 (w.) INDONESIA (Batjan I.). [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Formica familiaris Smith, F. 1860a: 68 (now in Pseudolasius).] Junior synonym of melanocephalum: Forel, 1899c: 101.
 * australe. Tapinoma (Micromyrma) melanocephalum var. australe Santschi, 1928e: 475 (w.) VANUATU. Junior synonym of melanocephalum: Bolton, 1995b: 399. [Note. Shattuck, 1994: 148 treats australis and australe as variant spellings, but the type-localities of the two are different and the names must be treated as separate.]
 * australis. Tapinoma (Micromyrma) melanocephalum var. australis Santschi, 1928a: 53 (w.) SAMOA. Junior synonym of melanocephalum: Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 80.

Additional References

 * Collingwood, C. A. 1979. The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomol. Scand. 8:1-174.