Paraneuretus tornquisti

†Paraneuretus tornquisti Temporal range: Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene K Pa Eo Ol Mi Pl Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Aneuretinae
Genus:	Paraneuretus
Species:	†P. tornquisti
Binomial name
†Paraneuretus tornquisti Wheeler, W.M., 1915

Photo Gallery

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  Radchenko & Khomych (2022), Figure 2. Photograph of Paraneuretus tornquisti, worker (collection number K-9135, Rovno amber): (A) body in left lateral view; (B) body in right lateral view; (C) mesosoma and abdomen in left lateral view (photo A. Radchenko).

Identification

Differences between workers of Protaneuretus succineus and Paraneuretus tornquisti (based on Wheeler (1915), with additions by Radchenko & Khomych (2022))

Protaneuretus succineus	Paraneuretus tornquisti
Propodeum slightly convex, with two short sharp teeth, directed upward	Propodeum inflated and gradually rounded, without teeth
Antennal scape shorter than head (SL < HL)	Antennal scape longer than head (SL > HL)
Entire body, including scapes and legs, with abundant long erect hairs	Head and mesosoma with sparse erect hairs; all gastral sternites and tergites, starting from third, with abundant long erect hairs; petiole, scapes and legs (except coxae) without hairs
Mesopleurae and sides of propodeum with longitudinal rugae, propodeal dorsum with transverse rugosity	Entire body smooth
Helcium attached on the middle of anterior face of first gastral segment	Helcium attached high on anterior face of first gastral segment

Distribution

This taxon was described from Baltic amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) and is also known from Bitterfeld amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Bartonian, Middle to Late Eocene) (Perkovsky, 2016) and Rovno amber, Baltic Sea region, Europe (Priabonian, Late Eocene) (Radchenko & Khomych, 2022).

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• †tornquisti. †Paraneuretus tornquisti Wheeler, W.M. 1915h: 75, fig. 32 (w.m.) BALTIC AMBER (Eocene).

References

• Perkovsky, E.E. 2016. Tropical and Holoarctic ants in late Eocene ambers. Vestnik zoologii 50(2): 111–122 (doi:10.1515/vzoo-2016-0014).
• Radchenko, A. 2023. A new extinct ant genus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Baltic Amber. Annales Zoologici 73(1), 41-49 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2023.73.1.004).
• Radchenko, A., Khomych, M. 2022. First records of aneuretine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aneuretinae) in late Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine). Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 65 (2): 69–80 (doi:10.3897/travaux.65.e85206).

• Radchenko, A.G., Perkovsky, E.E. 2020. New finds of the fossil ant genus Prionomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmeciinae) in Late Eocene European amber. Paleontological Journal 54, 617–626 (doi:10.1134/s0031030120060088).
• Wheeler, W.M. 1915i. The ants of the Baltic Amber. Schriften der Physikalisch-Ökonomischen Gesellschaft zu Königsberg 55: 1-142. (page 75, fig. 32 worker, male described)