Although thousands of billions of ants can crawl around the earth today, few correspond to the fierceness of the extinct “Hell ants” from the chalk period. From the Subfamilie HaidomyrmecinaeThese ants had highly specialized jaws that are comparable to a scythe-a horn-shaped tool that is used to cut grass or to access a grim reaperkostume. The jaws were probably used to pin and push their helpless prey.
Now a team in Brazil has discovered a 113 million-year-old Hell Ant that represents the oldest Hell Ant-copy that is known in science. The ant was stored in limestone and is described in one Study published on April 24 in the Cell Press Journal Current biology.
“Our team has discovered a new fossil ant species that represents the earliest indisputable geological file of ants,” Anderson Lepeco, co-author and paleontologist of the Museu de Zuologia da Universidade de São Paulo, said in a statement. “What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that it belongs to the extinct ‘Hell Ant’, known for their bizarre predatory adjustments. Despite the fact that it is part of an old origin, this species has already shown highly specialized anatomical characteristics, which suggests that unique hunting behavior.”
According to the teamThe existence of a hellish ant in Brazil shows that the insects had already been divided on a large scale all over the world and had diversified somewhere in their evolution somewhere in their evolution.
Rather the Oldest Hell Ants were found in Burma and France and were kept in Amber-Jurassic Park Style – instead of limestone.
“Although clear ants have been described from Amber, this was the first time we could visualize this in a rock fossil,” said Lepeco.
The team found the “remarkably well -preserved” mier monster while systematically a large collection of fossil insects of the Crato formation. This down payment in northeast Brazil is known for exceptional fossil stock and is housed in the Museu de Zuologia da Universidade de São Paulo.
[ Related: Even ants may hold grudges. ]
“When I encountered this extraordinary copy, we immediately recognized its meaning, not only as a new species, but as possibly the final proof of ants in the crato formation,” Lepeco said. “This finding emphasizes the importance of thorough research of existing collections – private or in museums – and brings a spotlight for Brazilian paleontology and the underexposed fossil insect fauna of the country.”
To view the old insect closer, the team used Micro-calculated tomography image. This 3D image formation technology implements X-rays to view the inside of a sample. The image showed that this newly discovered ant was closely related to Hellants who were only known from monsters in a type of amber found in Myanmar called Burmese Amber. Seeing a hell ants kept in limestone so far away from Burma indicates that these ants were spread wide and probably several times crossed chalkland mass. But what the team was most excited were the specialized functions of the Hell Ant.
“Although we expected to find Hell Ant characteristics, we were shocked by the characteristics of the food device,” said Lepeco.
Modern ants usually have Lateral moving lower jaws. Instead, this species had lower jaws that ran parallel to the head and facial projection closer to his eyes.
“Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago has challenged our assumptions about how quickly this insect developed complex adjustments,” Lepeco said. “The complicated morphology suggests that even these earliest ants had already developed advanced predatory strategies that differ considerably from their modern counterparts.”
As with most fossil discoveries, this new copy raises some broader questions About which evolutionary pressure led to the unique adjustments of the Hell Ant. Further study with advanced imaging aids could unlock millions of years of secrets.
More Deals, Reviews and Purchase Guides