The morphology of the mandible is unique and immediately identifies Promyopias silvestrii.

[2] Santschi (1914) initially associated Promyopias with Myopias,[3] the latter a moderately sized genus widespread in the Oriental, Malesian and Austral regions, because of supposed overall similarities in the form of the mandible and clypeus.

Major characters of Myopias that differentiate it from Promyopias include: eyes usually present in worker (absent in one species); scape not flattened; mesonotum sharply defined; spiniform setae entirely absent from middle and hind tibiae and basitarsi; helcium located at base of first gastral segment; posterodorsal margin of helcium with a median emargination; prora an anteroventral tooth; stridulitrum present.

[4] During its history Promyopias has been regarded as a separate genus or as a subgenus of two other ponerine genera.

The provisional synonymy of Promyopias with Centromyrmex proposed by Brown (1973)[5] and accepted by Bolton (1994, 2003)[6][7] was based on the presence and distribution of spiniform setae on the legs.