Carebara tahitiensis

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: French Polynesia.

Nomenclature

 *  tahitiensis. Oligomyrmex tahitiensis Wheeler, W.M. 1936f: 11 (q.m.) TAHITIAN IS. Perrault, 1976: 304 (s.w.). Combination in Carebara: Fernández, 2004a: 235.

Queen
length 5 mm. Head suboblong, slightly narrower in front than behind, with straight, subparallel cheeks, subrectangular posterior corners and feebly and sinuately concave posterior border. Eyes moderately large and convex, slightly shorter than their distance from the anterior corners. Mandibles stout, convex, 6-toothed. Clypeus bluntly bicarinate, with medially emarginate anterior border. Antennae 9-jointed, scapes reaching half-way to the posterior corners of the head; funicular joints all longer than broad, terminal joint of the 2-jointed club enlarged, more than twice as long as the preceding joint. Thorax from above elongate-elliptical, decidedly narrower than the head; mesonotum nearly two-thirds longer than broad, as long as the remainder of the thorax in profile, perpendicular anteriorly, straight and horizontal above; epinotum abruptly sloping in the middle, without distin'ct base and declivity, on each side broadly and bluntly dentate. Petiole longer than high, with distinct but short peduncle, the node concave anteriorly and posteriorly, its apex somewhat truncated; seen from above the petiole is nearly twice as long as broad, the node longer than broad. Postpetiole slightly broader than the petiole, broader in front than behind, with an anteromedian convexity bordered on each side by a short, crenate ridge. Gaster elongate-elliptical. Wings rather narrow, measuring 4.6 mm.

Shining; mandibles sparsely punctate, anterior three-fourths of head regularly longitudinally striate, mesonotum and posterior portion of head very finely and indistinctly punctulate, mesopleurae and sides of pronotum very smooth and shining; epinotum striate-punctate; petiole and postpetiole densely and evenly punctate; gaster, legs and scapes finely shagreened, with small, sparse, piligerous punctures.

Hairs yellowish, of uneven length, rather short but moderately abundant, erect or suberect on the body, more oblique on the appendages. Head, thorax and pedicel dark brown; mandibles reddish; gaster, legs, funiculi and tips of scapes brownish-yellow; first gastric segment largely dark brown above, second and third segments each with a poorly defined median brown band. Wings distinctly and uniformly infuscated, with brown veins and pterostigma.

Male
length nearly 4 mm. Head through the eyes broader than long, convex dorsally and posteriorly, with short anteriorly converging cheeks and large, convex eyes and ocelli, the sides behind the eyes rounded, without posterior corners, converging to the posterior border which is somewhat impressed. Mandibles, small, tridentate. Clypeus with a prominent conical medial tubercle posteriorly, the anterior border entire and rounded. Frontal area and groove distinct, frontal carinae vestigial. Antennae 13-jointed; scapes slightly more than twice as long as broad, as long as the second funicular joint; first funicular joint one and one-half times as long as broad, basally constricted; joints 3-11 cylindrical, more than twice as long as broad but only half as long as the terminal joint and distinctly shorter than the third joint. Thorax resembling that of the female and, hough smaller and proportionally shorter, as broad as the head through the eyes. Epinotum more sloping, with only indistinct traces of the lateral teeth. Petiole shorter and lower than that of the female, its node in profile with straight, sloping anterior and abrupt posterior surface, its apex rounded. Postpetiole larger and slightly broader than the petiolar node, transversely elliptical. Gaster elongate, parallel-sided, truncated anteriorly. Genitalia exserted, stipites long, claw-shaped, with acute tips. Legs rather slender. Wings nearly 4 mm.

Shining; mandibles with a few coarse punctures. Head finely, longitudinally striate, the striae on the front converging to the ocelli, transverse on the ocellar triangle; thorax smooth and sparsely punctate, anteromedian portion of mesonotum, the epinotum and the regions bordering the pleural sutures finely striate; pedicel evenly and densely punctate.

Pilosity like that of the female but more abundant on the head and shorter and more appressed on the appendages.

Black; antennae, legs and genitalia dark brown; terminal tarsal joints reddish; wings infuscated as in the female.

Type Material
Society Islands: Tahiti, Taohiri, on Mount Aorai Trail, altitude 3500 ft., Sept. 12, 1934, collected by E. C. Zimmerman, one female and two males. Types in Bernice P. Bishop Museum.