Ctenobethylus
| Ctenobethylus Temporal range: Baltic amber
| |
|---|---|
| †Ctenobethylus goepperti worker in amber | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Clade: | Dolichoderomorpha |
| Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
| Tribe: | Tapinomini |
| Genus: | †Ctenobethylus Brues, 1939 |
| Type species | |
| Hypoclinea goepperti (Mayr, 1868)
| |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 2 species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ctenobethylus is an extinct genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus contains two described species as of 2026, both known from various Eocene European amber deposits.[2]
Species
As of 2026, Ctenobethylus contains two valid described species, both extinct.
- †Ctenobethylus goepperti (Mayr, 1868)
- †Ctenobethylus oblongiceps (Wheeler, 1915)
Taxonomy
The genus Ctenobethylus was established in 1939 by Charles Thomas Brues as a genus of bethylid wasps.[3] Fossils were reported from 25 collections across Europe, including Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, spanning the Priabonian of the upper Eocene to the Rupelian of the lower Oligocene (38–28.1 Ma). In early 2026, Eldermyrmex was synonymized under Ctenobethylus, therefore inserting the species Ctenobethylus oblongiceps into the genus.[3]
Morphology
Morphologically, males have a blackish-brown body with pale wings, a rounded head with prominent eyes and three ocelli, a short scape, and a 13-segmented funicle. The thorax is rounded, legs are long and brownish, and the abdomen is subspherical. Total length ranges from 3 mm (male) to 6.25 mm (wingless female).[4]
Ecology
A specimen from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's amber collection was examined using synchrotron micro-computed Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Ctenobethylus is closely related to the modern arboreal genus Liometopum and likely a dominant Eocene forest ant.[3] One fossil specimen of C. goepperti contained a preserved mesostigmatid mite attached to the head of the ant, which is perhaps the oldest known evidence of ecological association between mites and ants.[5]
References
- ^ Bolton, B. (2021). "Lasius". AntCat. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ Bolton, Barry (June 1994). Identification Guide to the Ant Genera of the World (1st ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-674-44280-6.
- ^ a b c Boudinot, B. E.; Bock, B. L.; Tröger, D.; Weingardt, M.; Hammel, J. U.; Grabe, V.; Solórzano‑Kraemer, M. M.; Jandausch, K. J.; Oberski, J. T.; Schmuck, T. (22 January 2026). "Discovery of Goethe's amber ant: its phylogenetic and evolutionary implications". Scientific Reports. 16 2880. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-36004-4.
- ^ Théobald, Nicolas (1937). "Les insectes fossiles des terrains oligocènes de France". Mémoires de la Société géologique de France (in French). 15: 1–264.
- ^ Dunlop, J. A.; Kontschan, J.; Walter, D. E.; Perrichot, V. (10 September 2014). "An ant-associated mesostigmatid mite in Baltic amber". Biology Letters. 10 (9) 20140531. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2014.0531. PMC 4190962. PMID 25209198.