Lasiomyrma Terayama & Yamane

Eguchi, K., Viet, B. T. & Yamane, S., 2011, Generic synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Part I - Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmicinae., Zootaxa 2878, pp. 1-61 : 16-17

Lasiomyrma Terayama & Yamane , 2000

Taxonomy. The genus Lasiomyrma is assigned to the tribe Stenammini by Terayama & Yamane (2000). The worker of the single known Vietnamese species has the following features.

Wo r k e r probably monomorphic; head in lateral view subrectangular; frontal carina and antennal scrobe absent; median portion of clypeus forming steep anterior face, with weak submedian carinae; anteromedian portion of clypeus forming a transverse strip with anterior margin weakly pointed in middle, lacking an isolated median seta; posteromedian portion of clypeus relatively narrowly inserted between frontal lobes; mandible elongate-trianglar, with 8 teeth that decrease in size from apex to base; antenna 12-segmented, with inconspicuous 3-segmented club; eye well developed; promesonotum in lateral view slightly convex, only a little higher than anterior border of propodeum, in dorsal view with obtusely angulate humeri; promesonotal suture absent dorsally; metanotal groove distinct; propodeal spine distinct; propodeal lobe present as a small angulate lobe; petiole pedunculate, with high and thin node; postpetiole higher than long, in lateral view roundly convex dorsally; gastral shoulder absent.

All of the described species of Lasiomyrma have 11-segmented antennae (Terayama & Yamane 2000, Jaitrong 2010). However, a single worker of Lasiomyrma collected from northern Vietnam (L. sp. eg-1) has 12-segmented antennae, thus the worker diagnosis of the genus given in Terayama & Yamane (2000) should be widened as "antenna 11- or 12-segmented". The worker of Lasiomyrma is morphologically very similar to those of Lordomyrma bhutanensis (Baroni Urbani) and L. sinensis (Ma, Xu, Makio & DuBois) which were recently transferred to Lordomyrma from Stenamma by Branstetter (2009). These Lordomyrma species completely lack antennal scrobes and have the apex of anterior clypeal margin with a small projecting tooth. We provisionally accept Lasiomyrma as a valid genus but suggest that a comprehensive re-examination of Lordomyrma and Lasiomyrma is needed.

Vietnamese species. A single specimen of Lasiomyrma has been found from Vietnam: sp. eg-1 (Ba Vi).

Bionomics. The single specimen of Lasiomyrma sp. eg-1 was collected near the top of Mt. Ba Vi, ca. 1,100 m alt. (Eguchi et al. 2005).