''Eutetramorium'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s within the

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 names with "-oideae", and zo ...

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 ...

. To date it contains three species found in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

Species

*'' Eutetramorium mocquerysi'' Emery 1899 – Madagascar *'' Eutetramorium monticellii'' Emery 1899 – Comoros *'' Eutetramorium parvum'' Bolton & Fisher, 2014 – Madagascar

Description

The

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

is extremely

ergatoid An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + '' -oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gyne ...

in ''E. mocquerysi'',

alate Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures. In entomology In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form of ...

in ''E. monticellii''. In ''E. parvum'' a normal dealate queen is present in the type-series, but there is also a specimen that may be an ergatoid or a worker-queen intercaste, or possibly merely an oversized worker. Males are known only for ''E. mocquerysi'', where it is smaller than conspecific workers.

Taxonomy

This small genus was established by Emery (1899) for two conspicuous, large, darkly coloured Madagascan species that superficially resemble ''

Tetramorium ''Tetramorium'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species. These ants are also known as pavement ants. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Tetramorium'' was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1855 in the same publi ...

''. Initially, Emery (1912, 1914) was of the opinion that the genus was referable to the tribe

Myrmecinini Crematogastrini is a Tribe (biology), tribe of myrmicine ants with 64 genera and 8 fossil genera. Genera References

Myrmicinae Ant tribes {{myrmicinae-stub ...

, but Ashmead (1905) and Wheeler (1910) had already referred it to

Tetramoriini Crematogastrini is a tribe of myrmicine ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous p ...

, an opinion that Emery (1915, 1924) also came to accept. Bolton (1976) excluded ''Eutetramorium'' from Tetramoriini on morphological grounds, and tentatively transferred it to Myrmicini. This placement persisted until recently, when a molecular analysis of Myrmicini by Jansen & Savolainen (2010) showed that the monophyly of the tribe was dubious, and that ''Eutetramorium'' formed a clade with '' Huberia''. The yet unpublished, more detailed,

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

of Myrmicinae by Philip S. Ward has established that ''Eutetramorium'' belongs in a strongly supported, endemic Madagascan clade that also includes the other four genera: '' Malagidris'', '' Myrmisaraka'', '' Royidris'' and '' Vitsika''.

References

* * *Emery, C. (189.). "Formiche di Madagascar raccolte dal Sig. A. Mocquerys nei pressi della Baia di Antongil (1897–1898)." ''Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana'', 31, 263–290 * * * * *

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4038365 Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Africa Taxa named by Carlo Emery