Fossil ants of the genus Gesomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Eocene of Europe and remarks on the evolution of arboreal ant communities
Author
Dlussky, Gennady M.
Author
Wappler, Torsten
Author
Wedmann, Sonja
text
Zootaxa
2009
2031
1
20
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.186261
f4bc44d8-5688-4500-839e-2449308f744c
1175-5326
186261
0919CF2B-DBC2-4504-B48A-8AD0D01695DB
Gesomyrmex breviceps
sp. nov.
(
Fig. 4
B and
Fig. 6
F)
Derivation of the name.
Breviceps
is the Latin expression for “with a short head”.
Holotype
.
SMF
MeI 2305 (Ƥ).
Paratypes
(
ƤƤ
)
.
SMF
MeI 11054, MeI 13151.
Type
locality and horizon.
Grube Messel, Hesse,
Germany
. Messel formation, middle Eocene, ca. 47 Ma (
Mertz & Renne 2005
).
Description.
Gyne. BL
7–9 mm
. Head subrectangular, about 1.1 times longer than wide, with feebly concave posterior margin and rounded posterolateral corners. Anterior clypeal margin projected as rounded lobe. Eyes ovate, comparatively small. Head about 3.5 times longer than maximum eye diameter and scape length. Funicular joints shorter than thick. Mandible massive, triangulate. Forewing with closed cells
1+2r, 3r
, and
mcu
. Cell
mcu
rhomboidal. Vein sections
RS
and
M
with joint start from cell
1+2r
(section
RS+M
practically absent). Coloration completely preserved only in
paratype
MeI 11054. Posterior part of head and most part of mesosoma yellowish brown, anterior part of head, spot near ocelli, and median parts of gastral tergites dark brown. Coloration of
holotype
gaster as in MeI 11054. Whole body of
paratype
MeI 13151 black, but probably coloration was changed during diagenesis. Wings of all specimens uniformly smoky brown, with darker veins and pterostigma.
Measurements (in mm).
Holotype
MeI 2305: BL 9.2, AL 2.6, HL 1.6, HW 1.5, ED 0.46, FWL 5.1;
paratype
MeI 11054: BL 7.2, AL 2.1, ED 0.40, FWL 5.1;
paratype
MeI 13151: BL 7.1, AL 1.85, FWL 4.3.