Brownimecia clavata
| Brownimecia clavata | ||||||||||||
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Brownimecia clavata |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Turonium ( chalk ) | ||||||||||||
| 92 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the subfamily | ||||||||||||
| Brownimeciinae | ||||||||||||
| Bolton , 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Brownimecia | ||||||||||||
| Grimaldi , Agosti & Carpenter , 1997 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Brownimecia clavata | ||||||||||||
| Grimaldi, Agosti & Carpenter, 1997 |
Brownimecia clavata is an extinct species of ant known from Cretaceous fossils trapped in amber from New Jersey , North America. The species is one of the oldest known "higher" ants (all except the original subfamilies Sphecomyrminae and Armaniinae, which are known only from fossil sources). It is taxonomically isolated according to its combination of characteristics, so that it is the only species ( monotypical ) that has its own subfamily Brownimeciinae .
features
Only female workers of this species have been found. These reach a body length of approx. 3.5 millimeters. The cuticle is almost continuously covered with fine hairs (microtricha). Characteristic features of the higher ants include: metapleural gland present, antenna with extended basal limb (scapus), significantly longer than in the primitive Sphecomyrminae, free abdomen ( gaster ) begins with an extended stalk limb ( petiolus ), which extends from the trunk section (mesosoma or alitrunk) ) is separated by a clear constriction, it connects to the rest of the guests relatively broadly. The special structure of the mandibles is characteristic of the species . These are very long and slender, completely without teeth and crossed each other in a resting position. A comparable structure of the mandibles occurs in some recent ant species (e.g. of the genera Polyergus and Strongylognathus ); in these, it is related to “slave-hunting” (dulotic) species that do not raise their offspring themselves, but for this purpose Rob brood of other species of ants. The head also has relatively small, round complex eyes behind the center , ocelles are missing. The antennae are twelve-limbed, the end limbs thickened (culled). The cheeks (genae) are clearly toothed. The trunk section is long and narrow, slightly constricted in the middle. There is an indistinct seam between the metanotum and propodeum ; the propodeum is smooth without praise or thorns. The gaster is slightly constricted between the third and fourth abdominal segments. On the third and fourth segments, tergite and sternite are free, not fused together. Inside is the poison sting.
Location
All known animals come from Cretaceous amber from New Jersey. This is placed in the Turonian and is about 92 million years old. The first Mesozoic ant ever found, Sphecomyrma freyi , also comes from the deposit . There are now nine known deposits of Mesozoic ant fossils worldwide.
Phylogeny
Due to some features, such as the constriction between the third and fourth abdominal segment, a classification into the (at that time still broadly understood) subfamily Ponerinae was considered. Other features, such as the toothed cheeks, are found in the original recent subfamily Amblyoponinae . In 2003, Barry Bolton set up its own subfamily Brownimeciinae for the species with (unclear) relationships with the "poneroids" clades. This classification is still valid today.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b John S. LaPolla, Gennady M. Dlussky, Vincent Perrichot: Ants and the Fossil Record . In: Annual Review of Entomology . tape 58 , no. 1 , 2013, p. 609-630 , doi : 10.1146 / annurev-ento-120710-100600 , PMID 23317048 .
- ↑ David Grimaldi, Donat Agosti, James M. Carpenter: New and rediscovered primitive ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, and their phylogenetic relationships . In: American Museum Novitates . tape 3208 , 1997, p. 1-43 .
- ↑ Michael S. Engel, David A. Grimaldi: Primitive new ants in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, New Jersey, and Canada (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) . In: American Museum Novitates . tape 3485 , 2005, pp. 1-23 .
- ↑ Barry Bolton: Synopsis and classification of Formicidae . In: Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute . Vol. 71, 2003, pp. 1-370 .
- ↑ Philip S. Ward: Phylogeny, classification, and species-level taxonomy of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) . In: Zootaxa . tape 1668 , 2007, p. 549-563 ( online [PDF; accessed November 23, 2014]).
