Tetramorium punicum (F Smith)

Iran list Type location Israel (Myrmica punicum, F Smith, 1861a: 34, worker; Finzi, 1936: 182, male; raised to species Dalla Torre, 1893: 134 [name only]; see Collingwood, 1978: 71).
Subspecies cyrenaicum (Tetramorium caespitum punicum F. Smith var. cyrenaicum n., Emery, 1924a: 10, all forms; as Tetramorium punicum var cyrenaicum, first available use, Menozzi, 1927g: 379; name and record only) from Libya, Cyrenaica, Takra, Silvestri.

F Smith's (1861a) description is at . Finzi's (1936) description of the male is at . Emery's (1924a) description of cyrenaicum is at .

Egypt records - Wheeler & Mann (1916) from Mt Sinai, Sinai; Alfieri (1931) Fayoum Province, Manchiet El Fayoum, 24.x.1925; Finzi (1936).

Note: Type specimen apparently not located in BMNH by the Antweb team.

The photomontage of a type worker of cyrenaicum is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=0904826.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Tetramorium ? punicum B Taylor det.

Iran S Moradloo 19

7.vii.2013 36.76°N  47.89°E

Ghaliche Bolagh 2157 m 32°C Desert

13

The photomontage is of a worker from Iran, collector S Moradloo (19).

Note: the size matches Smith's TL of ca 1.5 lines = ca. 3.2 mm.  He gave the colour as pale red, legs and antennae palest. The delicate longitudinal striation on the head also is similar but this lacks striations on the mandibles. Smith, however, gave the metanotal groove as "deeply impressed", whereas it is a shallow depression here. The weak sculpturation on the head and near smooth dorsum of the alitrunk and pedicel set it apart from the similarly coloured Tetramorium caespitum flavidulum from southern Turkey.

Compared with the Emery cyrenaica, above, this is similar in overall dimensions but, obviously, that is darker. Other differences are the striate mandibles of the latter and that has somewhat narrower postpetiole. Emery made comparison with Tetramorium sahlbergi from Egypt.  Geographically, that comes from between the western cyrenaica and the eastern punicum.