The Oldest Known Ant Specimen Held Its Prey With Weird Mandibles, Researchers Claim

When you deliberation of predators, you apt ideate large animals with crisp claws oregon teeth, similar tigers oregon sharks. Over 100 cardinal years ago, however, a tiny yet freakishly fearsome predator impaled its prey with scythe-like jaws.

While investigating a ample postulation of fossil insects astatine the Museum of Zoology astatine the University of São Paulo, researchers successful Brazil realized that a 113-million-year-old fossil represents a caller ant taxon and mightiness beryllium the oldest ant specimen known to science. The fossilized ant, named Vulcanidris cratensis, is simply a subordinate of the extinct ant subfamily Haidomyrmecinae. Appropriately dubbed “hell ants,” Haidomyrmecinae ants existed during the Cretaceous period (145 cardinal to 66 cardinal years ago) and are known to paleontologists for their vicious and highly specialized jaws.

“Our squad has discovered a caller fossil ant taxon representing the earliest undisputable geological grounds of ants,” Anderson Lepeco, a researcher from the Museum of Zoology astatine the University of São Paulo, said successful a Cell Press statement. “What makes this find peculiarly absorbing is that it belongs to the extinct ‘hell ant,’ known for their bizarre predatory adaptations.”

Lepeco co-authored a study detailing the discovery, published Thursday successful the diary Current Biology. He and his colleagues studied the hellhole ant, preserved successful limestone, via a 3D imaging method called micro-computed tomography, which reveals the insides of objects. According to their analysis, the ant had awesome mandibles (mouth parts) that poked forward, parallel to the signifier of the caput successful beforehand of the eyes, which were apt utilized to pin down prey. In contrast, the mandibles connected modern ants determination sideways.

An creator reconstruction of the precocious discovered hellhole ant species. © Diego M. Matielo

“Finding specified an anatomically specialized ant from 113 cardinal years agone challenges our assumptions astir however rapidly these insects developed analyzable adaptations,” Lepeco explained. “The intricate morphology suggests that adjacent these earliest ants had already evolved blase predatory strategies importantly antithetic from their modern counterparts.”

Furthermore, the researchers concluded that the specimen was intimately related to different antecedently discovered hellhole ant taxon preserved successful amber successful Myanmar. Since the Vulcanidris cratensis came from the Crato Formation—a fossil hot-spot successful northeastern Brazil—this suggests that by 113 cardinal years ago, Haidomyrmecinae ants had already dispersed each implicit the world.

“When I encountered this bonzer specimen, we instantly recognized its significance, not lone arsenic a caller taxon but arsenic perchance the definitive grounds of ants successful the Crato Formation,” Lepeco added. “This uncovering highlights the value of thorough introspection of existing collections — backstage oregon successful museums — and brings a spotlight to Brazilian paleontology and the underexplored fossil insect fauna of the country.”

The survey yet reveals that ants had already diversified and expanded crossed the satellite 113 cardinal years ago, shedding airy connected the improvement of one of the astir palmy insects connected the planet.