Diagnosis
Lordomyrma desupra lacks a transverse carina between the propodeal dorsum posterior to the metanotal groove and and possesses a robustly produced promesonotum that, in larger workers, bulges above the level of its head and propodeum. Of the three other species that share these characters, L. desupra can be distinguished from L. tortuosa by its weaker facial sculpture, from L. stoneri by its smaller, more slender appearance and straight propodeal spines, and from L. vuda by its facial sculpture, weaker propodeal spines, smaller size and lighter color.
Lordomyrma desupra shows a wider variation in the size of workers than normally encountered within the Fijian Lordomyrma. In smaller workers, the size of the promesontum and propodeal spines is markedly smaller.
Measurement Table
| n = 10 | HL | ||||||||
| min | 3.55 | 0.81 | 0.73 | 0.87 | 0.71 | 0.21 | 0.92 | 0.99 | 0.85 |
| max | 4.18 | 0.93 | 0.83 | 0.92 | 0.76 | 0.25 | 1.12 | 1.08 | 1.00 |
Distribution & Biology
Thus far, L. desupra has only been collected from the higher elevations of several mountain ranges in northern Viti Levu. Although the single small worker from the Vaturu Dam area was collected on a log, both large and small workers were abundant in the forest canopy of the Monasavu area where they were captured using fogging methods. The collection of the species from Hydnophytum ant-plants and from canopy fogging, together with its absence from sifted litter collections, suggests L. desupra is a component of Fiji's arboreal ant fauna.
Distribution Table
| x | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Type specimens
Holotype. Worker, Monasavu Rd., 1.75 km SE Waimoque Settlement, 17°40'13″S 177°59'38″E, 850m, Viti Levu, Fiji, 28.viii.2006 (E. M. Sarnat #2361) (FNIC).
Paratypes. 15 workers, same data as holotype (ANIC, BPBM, CASC, LACM, MCZC, NMNH).
Citation of original description
Sarnat, E. M. (2006). Lordomyrma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Fiji Islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 90: 9-42.
Synonyms
none
Classification
Vespoidea: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Stenammini