Tetramorium brevicorne Bondroit

Type location Corsica (Tetramorium caespitum var debilis (part.), Emery, 1909d: 701; Tetramorium caespitum ssp caespitum var brevicorne Emery, 1916b: 194 - name only, brief details in key on p 196; Tetramorium caespitum var brevicorne, Bondroit, 1918: 108, worker & queen, Emery, 1925c: 185, illustrated, male & queen - no significant text; raised to species Baroni Urbani, 1964b: 53).

Emery's (1909d) description of debilis is at - more heavily sculptured than debilis - now Tetramorium taueret. Emery (1916b: 196) separation - was sculpturation almost as the type - T. caespitum ssp caespitum - the scape not reaching the occipital margin by about its own diameter up to twice its own diameter; colour dark; TL 2.2-2.6 mm. Bondroit's (1918) note is at . Sanetra, Güsten & Schulz (1999) examined the original specimens and gave a modern description; this is at .

Sanetra et al. found that the scape length is not a reliable distinction for separating workers from caespitum and the sculpturation of the petiole nodes was a better characteristic. On brevicorne the postpetiole has more or less evenly distributed reticulate microsculpture; on caespitum this is restricted to, at the most, the more basal part of the node; also the occiput on brevicorne often has rugosity developed into a conspicuous arched pattern.

Egypt records - questionable as it now seems that Mohamed et al (2001, illustrated) were in error and what they found actually was Tetramorium semilaeve which has smooth pedicel nodes; the same probably applies to the Sharaf list - Material examined: Wadi El-Talaa, St.Catherine (South Sinai), 15.xi.1998 (2); Wadi El-Talaa, St.Catherine (South Sinai), 19.ii.1998 (2); Wadi El-Arbaein, St.Catherine (South Sinai), 3.iv.1998 (8) (SHC); Sahab (South Sinai), 14.xi.1998 (1) Leg.M.R.Sharaf (ASUC).

The photomontage of the lectotype worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904818.