Tetramorium latreillei Forel

Tetramorium latreillei Forel

Tetramorium {Xiphomyrmex) latreillei Forel, 1895 a: 247. Syntype workers, Madagascar: Imerina oriental {Sikora) (MHN, Geneva) [examined].

Worker. TL 4.7 - 5.1, HL 1.14 - 1.20, HW 1.04 - 1.12, CI 91 - 93, SL 0.90 - 0.94, SI 82 - 86, PW 0.74 - 0.80, AL 1.38 - 1.46 (4 measured).

Mandibles striate, median clypeal carina present. Frontal carinae long and strong, divergent throughout their length and directed towards the occipital corners posteriorly. Antennal scrobe a well-defined groove capable of holding the scape. Posteromedian portion of head, in front of the occipital margin, impressed, transversely concave. Metanotal groove absent. Propodeal spines long and strong, metapleural lobes low and rounded. Petiole node in profile subrectangular, with vertical and nearly parallel anterior and posterior faces and a feebly convex dorsum. Head, alitrunk and pedicel regularly longitudinally rugose, the pedicel segments more weakly so than the head and alitrunk, the petiole sometimes with a smooth mediodorsal strip. Erect hairs sparse, present only upon the head and pronotum, apparently not developed on mesonotum, propodeum or pedicel. First gastral tergite with fine greyish appressed pubescence but without hairs, the remaining tergites with hairs. Colour uniform dark brown to black.

In the Malagasy fauna a total of 8 species are now known in which the first gastral tergite lacks hairs. Four of these belong to the schaufussi-group, one to the ranarum-group and two to the weitzeckeri-group. T. latreillei is so far the only member of the tortuosum-group in which this character occurs, and it serves to separate easily this species from its close relatives.

Material examined

Madagascar: no loc. (Staudinger); no loc (Sikora).