Tetramorium weitzeckeri Emery 1895
Creators: name: Garcia, Francisco Hita
name: Fischer, Georg
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Tetramorium
Tetramorium weitzeckeri

description: Identification key to species of the T. weitzeckeri species complex (workers)
1. First gastral tergite without any form of standing pilosity (Fig. 3A).......................................2
– First gastral tergite with standing pilosity (Fig. 3B–C)............................................................5
2. Mesosoma with abundant long, erect hairs (usually 7 to 8 pairs of hairs) (Fig. 4A) [Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa, Swaziland] ................................................................................. T. sepultum
– Mesosoma usually without long, erect hairs, rarely with up to 4 pairs of hairs at most (Fig. 4B–C)...3
3. Whole mesosoma covered with fine, mostly longitudinal rugulae superimposed on a very distinct reticulate-punctate ground sculpture (Fig. 5A) [Burundi] ................................. T. bendai
– Mesosoma either mostly unsculptured or rugulose, often in parts with weakly punctate ground sculpture, but never fully covered with distinct reticulate-punctate ground sculpture as above (Fig. 5B–C)................................................................................................................................................4
4. Most of mesosomal dorsum, especially pronotum, noticeably longitudinally rugulose (Fig. 5B) [Kenya, Tanzania] ............................................................................................................. T. tanaense
– Dorsum of mesosoma, especially pronotum, unsculptured and shiny (Fig. 5C) [Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe] ........................................................................................................................ T. humbloti
5. Eyes very large (OI 31); first gastral tergite with long, decumbent to subdecumbent (rarely appressed) pilosity [Kenya] (Fig. 6A, D) ............................................................ T. mpala sp. nov.
– Eyes always smaller than above (OI 16–26); first gastral tergite with long suberect to erect pilosity (Fig. 6B–C, E–F)...............................................................................................................6
6. Dorsum of head with conspicuous reticulate-punctate ground sculpture; postpetiole in profile between 1.3 and 1.7 times higher than long (LPpI 59–75) and in dorsal view around 1.4 to 1.5 times wider than long (DPpI 137–154) (Fig. 7A, E–F) [Cameroon, Central African Republic, D.R. Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria] ...... T. guineense
– Character combination never as above; dorsum of head usually without conspicuous reticulatepunctate ground sculpture; if cephalic ground sculpture noticeably reticulate-punctate (as in some series of T. weitzeckeri), then postpetiole in profile around 1.7 to 2.1 times higher than long (LPpI 49–60) and in dorsal view 1.7 to 2.0 times wider than long (DPpI 146–203) (Fig. 7B–D, G–H)......7
7. Distinctly bicoloured species, head and mesosoma orange to reddish brown, petiole, postpetiole and gaster very dark brown to black (Fig. 8A) [Central African Republic, Kenya, Uganda] ... T. snellingi
– Whole body either uniformly brown to black or bicoloured with gaster, and often head, of lighter colour than mesosoma, petiole, and postpetiole (Fig. 8B–C).......................................8
8. Species either bicoloured, with gaster, appendages and head yellowish brown contrasting with reddish brown mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole, or whole body dark brown to black; mesosomal sculpture partly reduced, dorsum generally with weak longitudinal rugulae only, lateral mesosoma to great extent unsculptured; ground sculpture on lateral and dorsal mesosoma absent, appearing smooth and shining (Figs 8C, 9A–B, E–F) [São Tomé & Principe] ...... T. renae
– Uniformly coloured species, generally dark brown to black; usually with mesosoma dorsally and laterally strongly longitudinally rugose, very rarely with weaker developed rugae or rugulae, in the latter case the ground sculpture is reticulate-punctate (Figs 8B, 9C–D, G–H).....................9
9. Larger species (HW 0.77–0.93; HL 0.79–0.94; SL 0.60–0.74; WL 0.91–1.21); propodeal spines long to very long and spinose (PSLI 32–45); body colouration ranging from light brown to almost black, but usually of lighter brown than below; dry forest or savannah species (Figs 9G, 10A) [Angola, Eritrea, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe] ............................................................. T. weitzeckeri
– Smaller species (HW 0.64–0.74; HL 0.68–0.76; SL 0.47–0.54; WL 0.78–0.91); propodeal spines moderate to long, triangular-elongate to spinose, but never as long as above (PSLI 23– 29); body colouration always very dark brown to black; rainforest species (Figs 9H, 10B) [Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, D.R. Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan] .................................................................................................. T. boltoni
description: Published as part of Garcia, Francisco Hita & Fischer, Georg, 2014, Additions to the taxonomy of the Afrotropical Tetramorium weitzeckeri species complex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae), with the description of a new species from Kenya, pp. 1-16 in European Journal of Taxonomy 90 on pages 7-10, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2014.90, http://zenodo.org/record/3836785