Monomorium nitidiventre Emery

Monomorium key

Iran list Egypt list

Type location Yemen (Emery, 1893f: 256, worker; Mayr, 1901b: 7, queen; Karavaiev, 1911: 5, male; raised to species Collingwood, 1985: 272); type location wrongly given in Bolton (1995: 265) as Egypt; see below
new junior synonym - judaicum (Menozzi, 1933b: 63, illustrated, worker) from Israel (transferred from subspecies of bicolor) - no images on Antweb (February 2015). .

Bolton (1987: 331) dealing with the bicolor-complex described nitidiventre as a sibling species from around the eastern end of the Mediterranean and did not include it among the Afrotropical species. He does not appear to have any reference to the Santschi (1914b: 73) report of nitidiventre from Naivasha, Kenya, collected by Alluaud & Jeannel, and neither of the papers by Karavaiev (1911) and Viehmeyer (1923), reporting Sudan findings, are among his references.

Emery (1893f) simply noted, specimens from Aden [Yemen], collected by E Simon, - "differs from type (bicolor) by its smaller size, TL 2.6-2.8 mm; by its clear colour, which is more orange where the type is red and by the shiny gaster. Received also from Cairo". Emery (1908h: 677) had an illustrated note at . Karavaiev (1911) had and . Viehmeyer (1923) had ; Collingwood noted "This small bicoloured species ... differs from M. bicolor in the shorter head and appendages, the scape does not reach the occipital border - and by the presence of more numerous long dorsal hairs all over the alitrunk".

Menozzi's (1933b) illustrated description of judaicum is at .

The photomontage of a type collection worker from Yemen is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904602

Oxford University Museum specimens

Monomorium nitidiventre B Taylor det.

Iran O Paknia ZMGU 074

Fars Province 28.4325 N 53.1247222 E

Ghir Karzin

2

The photomontage is of workers from Iran, Fars Province, collector Omid Paknia. The overall form and size exactly matches nitidiventre. It clearly shows the bluish sheen to the gaster and has erect hairs on the underside of the head.