Lasius austriacus Schlick-Steiner 2003

Seifert, Bernhard, 2020, A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the subgenus Lasius s. str. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), Soil Organisms 92 (1), pp. 15-86 : 50

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.25674/so92iss1pp15
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10871715
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/153287B6-FD1E-FFE1-FCEA-FF0759D9F867
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Lasius austriacus Schlick-Steiner 2003
status

Treatment

4.4.6 Lasius austriacus Schlick-Steiner 2003

[type investigation]

Type material: 3 paratype workers from holotype nest labelled ”AUS: 15.51 E, 48.40 N, Feldberg bei Pulkau, leg. Schlick & Steiner, 2002.08.06 – 10982“; 3 paratype workers labelled ”AUS: 16.57 E, 48.09 N, Braunsberg bei Hainburg, leg. Schlick & Steiner, 2002.07.02 – 10445“; 3 paratype workers labelled ”AUS: 16.57 E, 48.09 N, Braunsberg bei Hainburg, leg. Schlick & Steiner, 2002.07.02 – 10449; 3 paratype workers labelled ”CZE: S Moravia: Hnanice 1.5 NNE, armer Steppenrasen mit Calluna auf Fels, 1997.09.18 -44“; all material deposited in SMN Görlitz.

All material examined. A total of 13 nest samples with 40 workers were subject to NUMOBAT investigation. These originated from Austria (9 samples), Czechia (2) and Turkey (2). For details see supplementary information SI1.

Geographic range. In Europe GoogleMaps known so far from only five sites in a 6500 km ² area in the planar and colline region of east Austria and south Moravia (here north to 48.9°N). A single very remote site from outside this area was confirmed for Anatolia (38.9°N, 36.8°E, 1900 m). Due to hidden life style and misidentification as “ L. alienus ” in the past it is certainly underrecorded throughout its range.

Diagnosis ( Tab. 2 View Tab , Figs. 11 View Figs –12; key; images in www. antWeb.org with specimen identifiers CASENT0916646): Lasius austriacus is an unmistakable combination of, in terms of Lasius . s.str., extremely small eye (EYE 900 0.198), short terminal segment of maxillary palp (MP6 900 0.144) and extremely small torulo-clypeal distance (dClAn 900 2.61%). Low scape length is another rare character (SL/ CS 900 0.892). Body size very small (CS 705 µm). Mean number of mandibular dents low (MaDe 900 7.4). Petiole scale in lateral view thin and forming an acute tip. Clypeal pubescence dilute (sqPDCL 900 5.51). Mean length of pubescence hairs on frons rather short(PLF 900 30.5 µm). Dorsum of scape without or few, occasional setae. Coloration: Head, mesosoma and gaster dark brown; antennae, tibiae and tarsae yellowish.

Biology. See the short summary in Seifert (2018).

Comments. The almost completely subterranean foraging lead to a significant reduction of eye size (EYE/ CS 900 0.198 ± 0.009, n=40). This value is, however, larger than in the most large-eyed species of the entirely subterranean subgenus Cautolasius : Lasius alienoflavus Bingham 1903 with EYE/CS 900 0.145 ± 0.006 (n=44) and L. flavus (Fabricius 1782) with EYE/CS 900 0.147 ± 0.010 (n=200).