Tetramorium alpestre Steinera &amp; Seifertb &amp; Moderc &amp; Schlick-Steinera 2010, sp.n.
Creators: name: Steinera, Florian M.
name: Seifertb, Bernhard
name: Moderc, Karl
name: Schlick-Steinera, Birgit C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Tetramorium
Tetramorium alpestre

description: <i>Tetramorium alpestre</i> sp.n. Steiner, Schlick-Steiner and Seifert (Figs. 2–9; Tables 1 and 2) Type locality. Austria (Tyrol): Vent, 46.8548 ◦ N, 10.9097 ◦ E, 2000 m a.s.l.; immediately above timber line; vegetation mainly grass with interspersed dwarf shrubs (<i>Erica</i> sp. and others; ca. 10–20 cm high) and patches free of vegetation (small rocks, stones, bare soil); holotype nest large (ca. 3 m 2); other ant species found close to holotype nest: <i>Formica lemani</i> Bondroit, 1917, <i>Leptothorax acervorum</i> (Fabricius, 1793), <i>Myrmica sulcinodis</i> Nylander, 1846; all information provided by H. Müller. Holotype (Fig. 9). Worker labelled “AUS: 46.8548 ◦ N, 10.9097 ◦ E, Vent, 2000 m, Weg zur MartinBusch-Hütte, leg. H. Müller 2007.08.15 -1, # 251 ”. Collection date: 15 August 2007. Deposition: Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz. Paratypes: 4 workers, 2 males, 3 gynes from holotype nest series (Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz); 7 workers, 1 male, 1 gyne from holotype nest series (Museum of Natural History Vienna); 7 workers, 1 male, 1 gyne from holotype nest series (Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck); 6 workers, 1 male, 1 gyne from holotype nest series (collection of B.C. Schlick-Steiner and F.M. Steiner, housed by the Institute of Ecology of the University of Innsbruck); 5 workers, 3 gynes with same data as holotype nest series but #252 (Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz); 16 workers, 2 gynes with same data as holotype nest series but # 252 (collection of B.C. Schlick-Steiner and F.M. Steiner, housed by the Institute of Ecology of the University of Innsbruck). Other material examined: see Table 1. Etymology: The species epithet is an adjective derived from alpes (lat.). Worker (Table 2): Description: general body proportions: small sized (arithmetic mean CS 0.753 mm). Eye short and narrow (EL/CS 0.196, EW/CS 0.150). Compared to <i>T. impurum</i>, scape thicker (SWd/SLd 12.75% vs. 12.25%), mesosoma longer (ML/CS 1.201 vs. 1.167) and wider (MW/CS 0.648 vs. 0.634), setae on pronotal corners shorter (PnHL/CS 0.237 vs. 0.252), spine tips more distant (SPWI/CS 0.305 vs. 0.295), petiolar and postpetiolar nodes wider (PEW/CS 0.335 vs. 0.321, PPW/CS 0.421 vs. 0.410) and postpetiolar node higher (PPH/CS 0.368 vs. 0.355). Body sculpture similar to <i>T. caespitum</i> et sp. B. Typical but not always reliable differences to <i>T. impurum</i> are: central dorsum of postpetiolar node often fully smooth and brilliantly shining. Paramedian and lateral postpetiole in dorsal view with regular, convexly curved carinulae or carinae; these are usually not wrinkled as often seen in <i>T. impurum</i>. Interspaces between longitudinal rugae on dorsal pronotum often almost smooth with absent or less developed fine anastomoses or delicate microreticular structures. Colouration on average darker and more homogeneous than in <i>T. impurum</i>, with whole body usually medium to dark brown. Mesosoma frequently not distinctly lighter than head and gaster, dirty yellowish brown colour component (as frequently seen in <i>T. impurum</i>) missing. Only reliable distinction from <i>T. caespitum</i> et sp. B and <i>T. impurum</i>: DA using nest mean values (at least two but ideally three workers) and characters CL/CW, CS, dCV, FL/CS, ML/CS, MPSP/CS, MW/CS, PENL/CS, PEW/CS, PnHL/CS, PosSPu/CS, PreOc/CS, SLd/CS, TAS. DA can be performed using a freely accessible identification tool embedded in the internet, at: http://web-resources.boku.ac.at/Discmean/. Male (Fig. 3): Description: relatively small-sized (values in mm): CW: arithmetic mean 0.900 ± standard deviation 0.042 [minimum 0.831, maximum 0.969]; ML 2.284 ± 0.081 [2.152, 2.366] (<i>n</i> = 10 individuals). Head, mesosoma and waist segments homogeneously blackish (in <i>T. impurum</i> usually with brownish colour component). Surface sculpture variable: mesonotum varying from almost smooth and shining with reduced longitudinal carinulae to almost completely covered by diagonal, curved or semicircular carinulae. Morphological asymmetries and malformations frequent in non-genital body parts. Distinction from <i>T. caespitum</i> et sp. B and <i>T. impurum</i> is best possible by genitalia. Overall spatial structure of genitalia in <i>T. alpestre</i> more similar to <i>T. impurum</i>. In lateral view, stipes of <i>T. alpestre</i> and <i>T. impurum</i> differ from <i>T. caespitum</i> et sp. B by rounded apex and apodeme positioned more anterior than apical level. In <i>T. caespitum</i> et sp. B, apex and apodeme positioned at almost same transversal level, both with roughly rectangular profile of apical stipes and much more pronounced apodeme. Best separation of <i>T. alpestre</i> and <i>T. impurum</i> in dorsocaudal aspect: in <i>T. alpestre</i>, gripping jaw of stipes with three dents or protrusions, the dent intermediate between anteriormost (formed by apodeme) and caudalmost, apical protrusion being acute; in <i>T. impurum</i>, intermediate dent absent or only shallow and blunt. Absolute genital sizes of <i>T. alpestre</i> and <i>T. impurum</i> typically different, but with slight overlap: maximum distance from dorsal posterior margin of cardo to stipal apex in <i>T. alpestre</i> (values in mm) arithmetic mean 0.812 ± standard deviation 0.044 [minimum 0.748, maximum 0.871] (<i>n</i> = 10 individuals), in <i>T. impurum</i> 0.977 ± 0.061 [0.859, 1.098] (<i>n</i> = 21). Thermal niche: TAS (in ◦ C): arithmetic mean 8.1 ± standard deviation 1.6 [minimum 5.5, maximum 12.2] (<i>n</i> = 22 sites). mtDNA (Figs. 5–7): 16 haplotypes of <i>cox1</i> (1113 bp) known; GenBank accession numbers: see Table 1. Habitat: Alpine mats. Geographic and altitudinal distribution (Figs. 4 and 8): The Alps in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, the Jura in Switzerland (indicated by two nests inferred to be hybrids between <i>T. alpestre</i> and <i>T. impurum</i>, see “Remarks” below); 44.42–47.22 ◦ N, 6.65–13.71 ◦ E; 1300–2335 m a.s.l. Phenology (Table 1): Alates recorded inside nests 2 July to 10 September. Social organisation: Only known Western Palearctic species of the <i>T. caespitum</i> / <i>impurum</i> complex with functional polygyny (more than one queen per nest egg-laying) and supercolonies (absence of aggression between workers from different nests) (Steiner et al., 2003). Remarks: Two ambiguous nests (#260, #261) from Swiss Jura, not included in description, are inferred to represent hybridisation of <i>T. alpestre</i> and <i>T. impurum</i>; hybridisation between these two species could be facilitated by overlapping altitudinal distribution, potentially overlapping nuptial flight phenology, and overall similarity of male genital structure (see Section 5.4. for details); no indication of hybridisation from Alps.
description: Published as part of <i>Steinera, Florian M., Seifertb, Bernhard, Moderc, Karl &amp; Schlick-Steinera, Birgit C., 2010, A multisource solution for a complex problem in biodiversity research: Description of the cryptic ant species Tetramorium alpestre sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), pp. 223-254 in Zoologischer Anzeiger 249 (2010)</i> on pages 249-250, DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2010.09.003, http://zenodo.org/record/8206180
description: {"references": ["Steiner, F. M., Schlick-Steiner, B. C., Buschinger, A., 2003. First record of unicolonial polygyny in Tetramorium cf. caespitum (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insect. Soc. 50, 98 - 99."]}