Lordomyrma leae

Identification
Propodeal spines rather short, metasternal spines long; antennal scrobes incomplete behind; gaster not coarsely punctate.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia, Lord Howe Island.

Nomenclature

 *  leae. Lordomyrma leae Wheeler, W.M. 1919f: 102, fig. 3 (w.m.) AUSTRALIA.

Description
Worker. Length 3.4-3.6 mm. Head longer than broad, as broad in front as behind, with feebly rounded sides, nearly straight posterior border and broadly rounded posterior corners. Eyes in front of the middle of the head, small, elongate, rather flat and oblique. Mandibles rather convex, thin, with straight external borders; apical borders with three larger anterior and numerous minute basal teeth. Scrobes shallow, incomplete behind, about + as long as the head. Antenna1 scapes extending to the posterior corners of the head; joints 2-7 of the funiculus narrow but broader than long; ninth and tenth joints distinctly longer than broad, together as long as the terminal joint. Clypeus high and convex in the middle, bluntly bicarinate, its anterior border broadly rounded and entire, feebly sinuate on the sides. Promesonoturn gradually narrowed behind, rather straight above in profile, decidedly longer than broad, the humeri subdentate, the mesonoturn behind falling abruptly to the pronounced mesoepinotal constriction. Epinotum slightly longer than broad, a little broader behind than in front, its spines short, broad at the base, very acute; metasternal spines slender, acute and like the superior spines directed upward. Base of epinotum in profile feebly convex, longer than the sloping, flattened declivity. Petiole longer than broad, broader behind than in front, its peduncle short, the node in profile angular, its anterior slope slightly concave, its posterior slope slightly convex. Postpetiole broader than long and broader than the petiole, rounded above and on the sides, constricted behind, with a blunt, transverse anteroventral projection. Gaster rather larger, somewhat longer than the thorax. Legs not incrassated. Shining, especially the mandibles, clypeus and gaster. Mandibles sparsely punctate, clypeus smooth, indistinctly rugulose on the sides. Head longitudinally rugose, the rug= becoming coarsely reticulate on the occipital region. Scrobes and interrugal spaces indistinctly punctate-reticulate. Region of the frontal groove occupied by a smooth shining longitudinal streak. Thorax, petiole and postpetiole irregularly, their upper surfaces more transversely rugose. Declivity of epinotum smooth and shining. Gaster with sparse, piligerous punctures. Hairs moderately long and abundant, erect or suberect, yellowish, bristly, covering all parts of the body, shorter and sparser on the legs and scapes, rather dense on the funiculi. Dark piceous brown; thorax, petiole and postpetiole nearly black; mandibles, clypeus, cheeks, base and tip of gaster, legs, including the coxse, first joint of funiculi and their clubs reddish brown.

Male. Length 3 mm. Head as broad as long, broadly rounded behind, without posterior angles, somewhat flattened above, with very short cheeks. Clypeus much as in the worker. Pronoturn visible from above, not overarched by the mesonotum which is as broad as long. Scutellum not very prominent. Epinotum sloping, simple, unarmed. Petiole fully twice as long as high and more than twice as long as broad, parallel-sided. Postpetiole from above broader, nearly square. Head and thorax subopaque, rather finely and irregularly punctate-rugulose; mesopleurse, a longitudinal streak on the front of the head, the petiole, postpetiole and gaster smooth and shining, the gaster with fine sparse piligerous punctures. Hairs finer and more oblique thanin the worker, very numerous on the antennae and wings, which are unusually pubescent. Dark piceous brown, nearly black; legs and antennae paler; clypeus and mandibles yellowish. Wings opaque brownish, with brown veins and pterostigrna. Described from numerous workers and five males collected by Mr. A. M. Lea on Lord Howe Island

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * CSIRO Collection
 * Donisthorpe H. 1940. Lordomyrma infundibuli (Hym., Formicidae), a new species of ant from Dutch New Guinea. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 76: 45-47.
 * Hoffmann, B. D., R. Graham, and D. Smith. 2017. Ant species accumulation on Lord Howe Island highlights the increasing need for effective biosecurity on islands. NeoBiota 34:41-52.
 * Jennings J. T., and A. D. Austin. 2015. Synopsis of the hymenopteran fauna of Lord Howe Island with a preliminary checklist of species. Zootaxa 3931(3): 423432.
 * Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
 * Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ant genus Lordomyrma Emery. Psyche (Cambridge) 26: 97-106.
 * Wheeler W.M. 1935. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 11(11):1-56.
 * Wheeler WM. 1927. Ants of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 62.4: 120-153.
 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927. The ants of Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 62: 121-153
 * Yasumatsu K. 1950. Discovery of an ant of the genus Lordomyrma Emery in eastern Asia (Hym.). Insecta Matsumurana 17: 73-79.