Tetramorium tonganum Mayr, 1870

Liu, Cong, Guenard, Benoit, Garcia, Francisco Hita, Yamane, Seiki, Blanchard, Benjamin, Yang, Da-Rong & Economo, Evan, 2015, New records of ant species from Yunnan, China, ZooKeys 477, pp. 17-78 : 63-65

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Formicidae

Tetramorium tonganum Mayr, 1870 Figure 40

Material examined.

CHINA, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna: XTBG (21.919°N, 101.274°E), Secondary forest, 05.vi.2013, 9 workers, 552 m, Winkler sifting, B. Guénard, B. Blanchard and C. Liu; Menglun town (21.934°N, 101.269°E), Secondary forest, 09.vi.2013, 2 workers, 640 m, Winkler sifting, B. Guénard, B. Blanchard and C. Liu.

Distribution.

Tetramorium tonganum is widely distributed in the Austral-Asian and Indo-Malayan subregions where it ranges from western Oceania to South East Asia (Figure 40C). Bolton (1977) has noted already that the species is widespread in its native range and has the characteristics of tramp species. It is very likely that future collections will reveal its presence in more Chinese provinces Southeast Asian countries.

Taxonomic note.

Tetramorium polymorphum belongs to the Tetramorium tonganum group and can be easily identified with the key provided by Bolton (1977).

Natural history.

Tetramorium polymorphum has been collected from leaf litter in secondary forest, and is known to be an exotic species in China ( Guenard and Dunn 2012). Despite its wide distribution and tramping ability, there is very little information about its biology. In addition to Bolton (1977), Sarnat and Economo (2012) also confirm that Tetramorium tonganum is able to establish populations outside its native range without damaging or significantly altering ecological or agricultural systems in its introduced habitats. They also report that Tetramorium tonganum is mostly found on vegetation in disturbed or edge habitats.