Cretaceous crown male ant reveals the rise of modern lineages.
Zool Res
; 45(5): 983-989, 2024 Sep 18.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39085754
ABSTRACT
Most described Mesozoic ants belong to stem groups that existed only during the Cretaceous period. Previously, the earliest known crown ants were dated to the Turonian (Late Cretaceous, ca. 94-90 million years ago (Ma)) deposits found in the USA, Kazakhstan, and Botswana. However, the recent discovery of an alate male ant in Kachin amber from the earliest Cenomanian (ca. 99 Ma), representing a new genus and species, Antiquiformica alata, revises the narrative on ant diversification. Antiquiformica can be distinctly differentiated from all known male stem ants by its geniculate antennae with elongated scape, extending far beyond the occipital margin of the head and half the length of the funiculus, as well as its partly reduced forewing venation. Furthermore, the combination of a one-segmented waist with a well-developed node, elongated scape extending beyond the occipital margin, and reduced forewing venation, particularly the completely reduced m-cu and rs-m crossveins and absence of rm and mcu closed cells, firmly places the fossil within the extant subfamily Formicinae. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed that the amber containing Antiquiformica alata originated from the Kachin mines in Myanmar. This discovery significantly revises our understanding of the early evolution of Formicinae. The presence of Antiquiformica in Cenomanian amber indicates that the subfamily Formicinae emerged at least by the start of the Late Cretaceous, with crown ants likely originating earlier during the earliest Cretaceous or possibly the Late Jurassic, although paleontological evidence is lacking to support the latter hypothesis.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ants
/
Biological Evolution
/
Fossils
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Zool Res
/
Zool. Res
/
Zoological Research
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China
Country of publication:
China