Tetramorium simillimum (F.Smith)

Type location Great Britain (Myrmica simillima, F. Smith, 1851: 118, worker; André, 1883a: 289, queen & male) Dorset (lost)
junior synonyms
bantouana (Tetramorium pusillum Em. var. bantouana nov., Santschi, 1910c: 382, illustrated, all forms) from Congo, M'Bamou, by Weiss - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0915080
brevispinosa (Wasmannia auropunctata Rog. subsp. brevispinosa n. subsp., Borgmeier, 1928a: 36, illustrated, worker) from Brazil - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0915082
denticulatum (Forel, 1902c: 235, worker) from India - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0909115
exoleta (Tetramorium pusillum Em. var. exolata n. v., Santschi, 1914d: 366, worker) from Nigeria, at Lagos, F. Silvestri - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0906138
opacior (Forel, 1913k: 81, worker) from Sri Lanka - no images on Antweb (October 2015)
parallela (F Smith, 1859a: 147, worker) from Indonesia - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0102937
pygmaeum (Tetramorium pygmaeum n. sp., Emery, 1877b: 371, queen; Emery, 1901e: 62, male; Emery, 1915g: 17, worker) from Ethiopia, Keren, coll. Beccari - see, queen,  http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0904832
material of unavailable name breve (Tetramorium pusillum Em. var. bantuala Sants. var. breve n. var., Santschi, 1924b: 213, worker) from Zaďre, Luebo, by H. Schouteden - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0915081
(see Bolton, 1995) .

F Smith's (1851) description is at . André's (1883a: 289) description of the queen & male is at . Emery's (1877b) description of pygmaeum is at . Arnold (1917: 323) gave an expanded transcription for a specimen from Durban, this is at . Santschi's (1910c) description of bantouana is at . Santschi's (1914d) description of exoleta is at . Emery's (1901e) description of the pygmaeum queen and male is at . and his (1915g) description of the worker is at . Santschi's (1924b) description of breve is at . Borgmeier's (1928) description of brevispinosum is at . Bolton's modern descriptions are at (1977) (1979) and (1980: 319, illustrated side of head, alitrunk and pedicel profile) .

WORKER (drawn specimen) - TL 2.02, HL 0.51, HW 0.48, SL 0.40, PW 0.31 (TL 2.0-2.7, in Bolton, 1980: 319, illustrated side of head, alitrunk and pedicel profile; in my guide as Tetramorium species F)
Colour yellow-brown, gaster dark and shiny. Head, alitrunk and pedicel finely punctate with the puncturations generally arranged longitudinally. Erect hairs stout and moderately abundant. Propodeal spines short, triangular and upturned. Petiole node short, with the anterior and posterior faces near vertical; dorsum flat in profile but sloping downwards to the posterior. Small acute subpetiolar spine.

Widely distributed by commerce (Wheeler, 1922). Collingwood & Bolton (1975) report it as a tramp species of African origin, which can be found in hot-houses in Britain, and Bolton (1980) listed findings from all over Africa, plus mentioning the wide global distribution.

Egypt records - listed in Emery (1909c: 697); Forel (1907a) Ismailia, coll. Biró.
Sharaf list - material examined: Shrinkash (Daqahliya, Egypt), 13.v.2003 (9); Gebel Asfar (Qalyubiya), 29.iv.1998 (2); Wadi El-Arbaein, St.Catherine (South Sinai), 13.vii.1998 (2) (SHC).

For more on the confused mess of susbspecies and synonyms see http://antsofafrica.org/ant_species_2012/tetramorium/tetramorium_simillimum/tetramorium_simillimum_variability.htm

Oxford University Museum specimens

Tetramorium simillimum B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	13.vi.2003 Abuzabal, Qaliobia 30°15' N 31°21' E		2
Tetramorium simillimum B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	21.vi.2003 Abuzabal, Qaliobia 30°15' N 31°21' E		2
Tetramorium simillimum B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	17.vii.2007 Marsah Matrouh 31°21' N 27°14' E	Kaseh Tourist Village	1

The photographed worker is from Egypt, Kaseh, collector M Sharaf).

The photographed worker is from Egypt, Qaliyobia, collector M Sharaf).