Tetramorium jedi

Hita Garcia, F. & B. L. Fisher, 2012, The ant genus Tetramorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Malagasy region - taxonomic revision of the T. kelleri and T. tortuosum species groups., Zootaxa 3592, pp. 1-85 : 47

Tetramorium jedi species complex

The T. jedi complex is relatively small with just the three species T. avaratra, T. jedi, and T. pleganon. It is characterized by the absence of sculpture on the forecoxae and the presence of reticulate-punctate sculpture on the first gastral tergite.

Tetramorium jedi does not seem to be morphologically close to the other two species of the complex, and they were grouped together on the basis of the reticulate-punctate sculpture on the first gastral tergite present in all three, even though the development of the sculpture from T. jedi to T. avaratra and T. pleganon is fairly different. The latter two, as mentioned above, may not be closely associated with any other T. tortuosum group members. Tetramorium jedi, however, might be distantly related to T. andrei and allies since the main separating character is the conspicuous sculpture on the first gastral tergite present in T. jedi but absent in the T. andrei complex.