Tetramorium rothschildi ( Forel, 1907 )

Mbanyana, Nokuthula, Garcia, Francisco Hita, Robertson, Hamish Gibson & Roux, Johannes Jacobus Le, 2018, A taxonomic revision of seed harvester ants of the Tetramorium solidum group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in southern Africa, European Journal of Taxonomy 454, pp. 1-59 : 38-40

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5852/ejt.2018.454

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:07F6B28D-ECA4-4F14-8132-0A58DE156057

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3818696

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039887DC-FFB5-A453-2B19-A0F4FEE5A3A9

treatment provided by

Valdenar

scientific name

Tetramorium rothschildi ( Forel, 1907 )
status

 

Tetramorium rothschildi ( Forel, 1907) View in CoL

Figs 2C View Fig , 19 View Fig , 24 View Fig

Triglyphothrix rothschildi Forel, 1907: 134 (included in Bolton 1976: 334).

Diagnosis

Tetramorium rothschildi is the only species in the T. solidum group with branched hairs ( Fig. 2C View Fig , 19 View Fig ).

Material examined

Holotype

ETHIOPIA: pinned worker, Harar, 1 Mar.1905, Maurice de Rothschild leg. ( MNHN: CASENT0915429 About MNHN ).

Other material

TANZANIA (27 pinned workers): Mkomazi Game Reserve, Kisima pitfall site, 4°01′30″ S, 38°02′27″ E, lightly wooded on red laterite soil, dominant trees Acacia mellifera , A. reficiens, A. senegal and A. zanzibarica , 2–4 Jan. 1997, G. McGavin leg. (SAM-HYM-C011140); GoogleMaps Mkomazi Game Reserve, Ibaya , 3°58′ S, 37°48′ E, 18 Nov. 1994, grassland, pitfall traps, A. Russell-Smith leg. (SAM-HYM-C009595); GoogleMaps Mkomazi Game Reserve, on top of Kisima Mountain , 4°06′ S, 38°05′ E, 1 Dec. 1995, nest entrance in the open (round with no crater of soil around), mountain top grassland with scattered trees and bushes, H.G. Robertson leg. (SAM-HYM-C008700); GoogleMaps Ibaya Game Reserve, 1 Nov. 1995, H.G. Robertson leg. ( CASENT0248479 ).

KENYA: foragers, Laikipia District, Mpala Research Centre, 0.29° N, 36.90° E, 1650 m a.s.l., 7 Oct. 1999, Acacia woodland, on ground, R.R. Snelling leg. ( CASC: CASENT0217078 ); GoogleMaps Narok, Rift Valley, Maasai Mara National Reserve , Mara River , riverbank close to Serena Lodge , 1.42478° S, 34.9099° E, 1493 m a.s.l., hand collected on the ground, savannah, FHG00030, 1 Jul. 2007, F. Hita Garcia leg. ( BMNH: CASENT0764432 , CASENT0764433 , CASENT0764435 ). GoogleMaps

GHANA: Tumu , 25 Dec. 1969, P. Room leg. ( BMNH: CASENT0764594 , CASENT0790132 ).

Measurements (worker N =5)

HL 1.033 –1.131 (1.068); HW 1.072 –1.259 (1.121); SL 0.698 –0.797 (0.745); EL 0.197 –0.226 (0.212); PH 0.541 –0.600 (0.570); PW 0.659 –0.757 (0.708); WL 0.934 –1.141 (1.060); PSL 0.216 –0.285 (0.252); PTH 0.325 –0.413 (0.378); PTL 0.315 –0.374 (0.342); PTW 0.354 –0.433 (0.384); PPH 0.354 –0.413 (0.385); PPL 0.285 –0.334 (0.299); PPW 0.393 –0.492 (0.444); OI 18–21 (19); CI 102–111 (105); SI 63–70 (67); DMI 64–72 (67); LMI 48–58 (54); PSLI 21–26 (24); PeNI 53–57 (54); LPeI 85–97 (91); DPeI 107–117 (112); PpNI 56–66 (63); LPpI 73–81 (78); DPpI 133–172 (149); PPI 105–122 (116).

Distribution

This species is known from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana.

Remarks

Tetramorium rothschildi was first placed in the genus Triglyphothrix because of its branched pilosity ( Bolton 1976). After Bolton (1985) revised the status of Triglyphothrix , he placed this species in the T. solidum group because of the deep indentation on the anterior clypeal margin. Despite Bolton’s decision and our current treatment of this species as a member of the T. solidum group, we are not at all convinced that this species is a genuine member of the group. It is possible that T. rothschildi represents a convergent evolutionary lineage and the similarities in morphology are based on a similar granivore lifestyle. However, at present, it is not possible to address this question without a molecular phylogenetic framework. This species has been recorded from Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania. Tetramorium rothschildi has been found nesting in red laterite soils; nests sometimes have grass husks around the entrance. Pitfall traps and hand collecting methods have been used to collect this species.

MNHN

France, Paris, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle

BMNH

United Kingdom, London, The Natural History Museum [formerly British Museum (Natural History)]

MNHN

Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Tetramorium

Loc

Tetramorium rothschildi ( Forel, 1907 )

Mbanyana, Nokuthula, Garcia, Francisco Hita, Robertson, Hamish Gibson & Roux, Johannes Jacobus Le 2018
2018
Loc

Triglyphothrix rothschildi

Bolton B. 1976: 334
Forel A. 1907: 134
1907
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