Monomorium abeillei André

Iran list Type location Israel (André, 1881b: 67; and, in Emery, 1881b: 531, footnote, worker; see Collingwood, 1985: 269) - see below.

André's (1881b) description is at . André (1881-6: 333f key) separated his species in a key, the extracts are at . Emery (1908h: 678) gave an illustrated description, this is at . Collingwood & Agosti (1996: 340) gave a description which is at .

Although Collingwood (1985: 269) cited the original André reference (1881b) he gave no description beyond a brief separation in his key. The later Collingwood & Agosti description (1996), however, does not marry with André's description, a point reinforced by the André key.

André's key had:
WORKER - antennae 12-segmented; head, except all or part of the clypeus, entirely and more or less finely granulose, slightly shiny or matt; first funiculus segment almost as long as the next two combined; TL bigger and colour darker than pharaonis (given as TL 1.75-2.3 mm); head slightly elongate, oval, its sides rounded, occiput not or slightly impressed, slightly wider at level of clypeus than at occipital angles; propodeum dorsum with impressed, wide and well marked, longitudinal groove which reaches forward almost to the metanotal suture; head, alitrunk and pedicel dark brown black, occasionally slightly reddish, funiculus, femora and tibiae brown, tarsi lighter, gaster black; body finely shagreened, matt or slightly shiny, gaster smooth and shiny; TL 3.0-3.5 mm.
From his earlier description, also - mandibles reddish, also their articulation; genae and space between frontal carinae finely & longitudinally striate; clypeus distinctly sunken medianly, with weak carinae bordering the impression; pubescence rare, pilosity sparse; head almost square; scapes not surpassing the occiput; eyes quite large set in the middle of the sides of the head; alitrunk weakly narrowed between the mesonotum and propodeum; pedicel nodes quite narrow, the first node a little higher than the second.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0915411

Thus, Collingwood's drawing (shown for comparison) with a narrow longitudinal groove on the propodeum and accentuated narrowing at the metanotal groove differs from André's description. Similarly, the Collingwood & Agosti note of the colour as evenly brownish-black to black does not match (their key had "colour black"); neither does their description of the head as almost straight-sided, with CI 78-91 (not as André's almost square head). Their key, couplet 15 has - "dorsum of alitrunk with projecting hairs" - this cannot be determined from André's descriptions.

Egypt Records - Wheeler & Mann (1916) from Wadi Feran, Sinai.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Monomorium abeillei B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	27.viii.2003 Taifa 31°21' N 30°56' E	Kafr Sheik	1
Monomorium abeillei B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	29.iv.2003 Gebl Asfar 31°21' N 30°13’ E		1
Monomorium abeillei B Taylor det.	Qatar M Sharaf IIC4			1

The photomontage is of a worker from Egypt, Taifa, Kafr Sheik, E 31°21' N 30°56'; 27.viii.2003, collector Mostaf Sharaf.

This appears to closely match André's description, including TL > 3.0 mm; the impressed shiny clypeus, with weak carinae; wide longitudinal groove on the propodeum and alitrunk with a reddish tinge.

The photomontage is of a worker from Egypt, Gabl Asfar; collector Mostaf Sharaf.