''Tetramorium inquilinum'' is an

ectoparasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

found in Europe. It was discovered by Swiss myrmecologist Heinrich Kutter. The species is unusual for lacking a worker caste, the queens and males living entirely off the care of the pavement ant. It has been called "the 'ultimate' parasitic ant" by

myrmecologist Myrmecology (; from Greek: μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the study of ants. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social ...

s Edward O. Wilson and

Bert Hölldobler Berthold Karl Hölldobler BVO (born 25 June 1936) is a German zoologist, sociobiologist and evolutionary biologist who studies evolution and social organization in ants. He is the author of several books, including '' The Ants'', for which he ...

Taxonomy

Kutter described the species in 1950, naming it ''Teleutomyrmex schneideri'' and designating it the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of its newly- circumscribed genus. He named it after his teacher and friend Otto Schneider-Orelli. Kutter discovered the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

himself; the species's type locality is Saas-Fee,

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

, Switzerland. The genus name, "Teleutomyrmex", meant "last" or "final" ant. In a 2015 revision of the subfamily

Myrmicinae Myrmicinae is a subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily ...

, Philip S. Ward, Seán G. Brady, Brian L. Fisher, and Ted R. Schultz classified the genus ''Teleutomyrmex'' as a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Tetramorium''. They created a ''

nomen novum In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), replacement name (or new replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a replacement scientific name that is created when technical, nomenclatural reasons have mad ...

'' for this species, ''T. inquilinum'', due to the presence of a

senior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the s ...

: '' Tetramorium schneideri'' ;

Carlo Emery Carlo Emery (25 October 1848, Naples – 11 May 1925) was an Italian entomologist. He is remembered for Emery's rule, which states that insect social parasitism (biology), social parasites are often closely related to their hosts. Early in hi ...

had named this species after a different individual, Oskar Schneider, who had collected the holotype. Ward and colleagues' replacement

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

refers to the species's

inquiline In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms, such as insects, may live in the ...

behavior (). This synonymy is contested in one paper, on the basis of the monophyly of the ''Teleutomyrmex'' complex and its very specific biology.

Distribution

This species has been found in the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

, the

French Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. F ...

, Spain, and Turkmenistan.

Morphology

The body shape of ''Tetramorium inquilinum'' is specifically adapted. The queens average 2.5 mm in length, and have a concave form and large pads and claws. ''Tetramorium inquilinum'' is frail and unable to care for itself: its mandibles are too small and weak to handle anything but liquid food, its sting and poison glands are small, and glands that produce food for larvae and protection against bacteria are completely absent. Its exoskeleton is thin and its brain and central nerve cord are small and simplified.

Behavior

''Tetramorium inquilinum'' constantly sends chemical signals that trick host ants into accepting them as full members of the colony. Being ectoparasitic, ''Tetramorium inquilinum'' spends most of its adult life clinging to the backs of its hosts, especially queens. As many as eight have been observed piggy-backing onto a single host queen, leaving her immobile.

Diet

''Tetramorium inquilinum'' lives entirely on food regurgitated by its hosts, even the liquid meant for the host queen.

Reproduction

Nourished and nurtured well by its hosts, ''Tetramorium inquilinum'' has high fecundity. Older individuals lay an average of two eggs every minute.

References

External links

* inquilinum Hymenoptera of Europe Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Parasitic Hymenoptera Insects described in 2015 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN