Tetramorium caldarium ( Roger, 1857 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Wetterer, James K., Mohamed, Amr A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2022, Faunal composition, diversity, and distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, with updated list of the Omani species and remarks on zoogeography, European Journal of Taxonomy 838 (1), pp. 1-106 : 77

Tetramorium caldarium ( Roger, 1857)

Fig. 48

Tetrogmus caldarius Roger, 1857: 12 (w, q) Germany. Palearctic.

Diagnosis

Color yellow or yellow-brown, gaster brown or black-brown; frontal carinae distinct, running posteriorly behind level of eyes; antennal scrobes less-marked; eyes with seven to eight ommatidia in longest row; propodeal spines acute, small, and triangular; cephalic dorsum feebly and finely longitudinally rugulose; body setae stout, blunt, and short.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 4 w; Dhalkout Road, Aghbaroot Village ; 16.798° N, 53.554° E; alt. 1034 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 w; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N; 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Ayn Razat ; 17.130° N, 54.236° E; alt. 121 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Dhalkout ; 16.693° N, 53.156° E; alt. 628 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 9 w; Ayn Hamran ; 17.086° N, 54.280° E; alt. 56 m; 22 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; same collection data as for preceding; CASENT0922858; CASC .

Ecological and biological notes

The nesting habits of T. caldarium include soil, leaf litter or under stones where soil is rich in organic matter such as feces of domestic animals (camels). The species was collected from several sites near trees of Ziziphus . Several workers feigned death when disturbed.

Geographic range

Tetramorium caldarium was originally described from Poland and with a speculated African origin ( Bolton 1980). The species has a wide global distribution ( Wetterer & Hita Garcia 2015). It has been recorded from several countries in the Arabian Peninsula including Oman ( Sharaf et al. 2018a), KSA, Yemen ( Collingwood 1985; Collingwood & Agosti 1996), and the Socotra Archipelago ( Collingwood et al. 2004; Sharaf et al. 2017c). Tetramorium caldarium is reported for the first time in Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 48. Tetramorium caldarium (Roger, 1857), worker (CASENT0922858, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.