Austromorium

Austromorium workers are general scavengers which nest in the soil, often at the base of trees. They occur broadly across southern Australia with most collections being from dry sclerophyll with a limited number from mallee.

Identification
Antennae 12 segmented (including the scape) with a 3-segmented club. Antennal scrobes absent. Mandibles with 4 or 5 teeth. Upper surface of the mesosoma forming a uniform arch which is interrupted only by the shallow metanotal groove. Tip of sting broadly flattened and expanded (visible only when the sting is extended).

These ants are superficially similar to workers of Lordomyrma and Tetramorium. They can be separated from Lordomyrma by the lower number of mandibular teeth (4 or 5 in this group, 7 or more in Lordomyrma), the relatively smooth mesosomal dorsum and the broad, expanded tip of the sting (which is sharply pointed in Lordomyrma). They differ from Tetramorium in having the region below the antennal socket rounded rather than ridged, and in lacking a triangular extension on the tip of the sting.

Identification Key

 * World