Eldermyrmex oblongiceps
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| †Eldermyrmex oblongiceps Temporal range: Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
| Genus: | Eldermyrmex |
| Species: | †E. oblongiceps |
| Binomial name | |
| †Eldermyrmex oblongiceps (Wheeler, W.M., 1915) | |
Dlussky (1997) postulated that this species likely did not belong in Iridomyrmex and that it “... most probably should be placed into another genus ...” However, he did not erect a new genus for it as he only had Wheeler’s (1915) drawing available and did not feel this was sufficient to establish a new genus. It is clear that this species does not belong to Iridomyrmex, and is, in fact, so distinct that assignment to a separate, and new, genus seems straightforward. This genus, Eldermyrmex, was established by Shattuck (in Heterick & Shattuck, 2011).
Contents
Identification
Distribution
This taxon was described from Baltic amber (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene).
Biology
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's New General Catalogue, a catalogue of the world's ants.
- †oblongiceps. †Iridomyrmex oblongiceps Wheeler, W.M. 1915h: 93, fig. 45 (w.) BALTIC AMBER (Eocene). Provisionally retained in Iridomyrmex: Shattuck, 1992a: 16. Combination in †Ctenobethylus: Dlussky & Rasnitsyn, 2009: 1036; in †Eldermyrmex: Shattuck, in Heterick & Shattuck, 2011: 170.
Description
References
- Dlussky, G.M. 1997. Genera of ants from Baltic Amber. Paleontological Journal, 31(6), 616–627.
- Dlussky, G.M. & Rasnitsyn, A.P. 2009. Ants in the Upper Eocene amber of central and eastern Europe. Paleontological Journal 43: 1024-1042.
- Heterick, B.E. & Shattuck, S.O. 2011. Revision of the ant genus Iridomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2845: 1–174.
- Shattuck, S.O. 1992. Review of the dolichoderine ant genus Iridomyrmex Mayr with descriptions of three new genera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Aust. Entomol. Soc. 31: 13-18.
- Wheeler, W. M. 1915. The ants of the Baltic Amber. Schr. Phys.-Ökon. Ges. Königsb. 55: 1-142.
