Lasius carniolicus, Mayr, 1861

Boudinot, Brendon E., Borowiec, Marek L. & Prebus, Matthew M., 2022, Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Systematic Entomology 47, pp. 113-151 : 138

2. Species group of carniolicus (= Austrolasius )

( Figs 8E , 9E )

Constituent species (2): carniolicus * [e], reginae Faber [e].

Distribution: Palaearctic.

Identification: Among groups of the flavus clade, most similar to those of flavus , nearcticus , and umbratus , in having relatively small eyes (vs pallitarsis ), stocky mesosomata (vs atopus ), and unreduced palpomere count (vs claviger group). Clypeus lateromedially narrow relative to head width, thus cheeks in full-face view strongly curving anteriorly to mandibular bases, similar to the condition observed in the fuliginosus group. Mandibles with offset basal teeth (variable among groups of flavus clade). See Faber (1967) and Seifert (2018) for species-level identification.

Note: L. carniolicus and L. reginae have been separated from other Lasius by their cheeks, which strongly curve toward their mandibular bases (e.g., Faber, 1967; Seifert, 2018). This may be due to the form of their clypei, which appear to be narrow relative to the width of their heads. The width and other quantitative features of the clypeus should be evaluated in future study.

Figures

Fig. 8. Gross phenotypic synopsis of the extant species groups of Lasius, plus two phenotypically similar fossil species; all images in full-face view; scale bars = 0.5 mm. (A) Lasius brunneus (CASENT0280440); (B) Lasius fuliginosus (CASENT0179898); (C) Lasius nr. niger (CASENT0106128); (D) Lasius nr. atopus (CASENT0234858); (E) Lasius carniolicus (CASENT0280471); (F) Lasius claviger (CASENT0103542); (G) Lasius brevicornis (CASENT0280456); (H) Lasius nearcticus (CASENT0104774); (I) Lasius pallitarsis (CASENT0005405); (J) Lasius aphidicola (CASENT0280468); (K) †Lasius schiefferdeckeri (MNHNB25217); (L) †Kyromyrma neffi (AMNH-NJ1029). (Image credits: D = the authors; AntWeb: A = Will Ericson; B = Erin Prado; C = Michael Branstetter; E, G, J = Shannon Hartman; F, H = April Nobile; I = unknown; K = Vincent Perrichot; L = Dave Grimaldi & Vincent Perrichot.)

Fig. 9. Gross phenotypic synopsis of the species groups of Lasius, plus two phenotypically similar fossil species; all images in profile view; scale bars = 1.0 mm; scale bar unavailable for K. (A) Lasius brunneus (CASENT0280440); (B) Lasius fuliginosus (CASENT0179898); (C) Lasius nr. niger (CASENT0106128); (D) Lasius nr. atopus (CASENT0234858); (E) Lasius carniolicus (CASENT0280471); (F) Lasius claviger (CASENT0103542); (G) Lasius brevicornis (CASENT0280456); (H) Lasius nearcticus (CASENT0104774); (I) Lasius pallitarsis (CASENT0005405); (J) Lasius aphidicola (CASENT0280468); (K) †Lasius schiefferdeckeri (HJF013); (L) †Kyromyrma neffi (AMNH-NJ1029). (Image credits: D = the authors; AntWeb: A = Will Ericson; B = Erin Prado; C = Michael Branstetter; E, G, J = Shannon Hartman; F, H = April Nobile; I = unknown; K = Vincent Perrichot; L = Dave Grimaldi & Vincent Perrichot.)