Estevia

Estevia
Temporal range: Fushun amber
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Clade: Doryloformicia
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: incertae sedis
Genus: Estevia
Fisher, 2025
Type species
Wilsonia megagastrosa
(Hong, 2002)
Diversity[1]
2 species

Estevia is a genus of fossil formicine ants containg two species known from Fushun amber. It was originally described in 2002 by Chinese paleoentomologist Youchong Hong (zh:洪友崇) as Wilsonia, an honorific of biologist E. O. Wilson,[2] however entomologist Brian Fisher found that the name was a junior secondary homonym of the bird genus Wilsonia described in 1838 and designated Estevia as a replacement name in 2026 in honor of Brazilian myrmecologist Flávia Esteves.[3]

Species

As of 2026, the genus includes one species officially designated within the genus and one implied.[1][2][3]

  • Estevia liaoningensis (Hong, 2002)
  • Estevia megagastrosa (Hong, 2002)

References

  1. ^ a b Bolton, B. (2026). "Estevia". AntCat. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b Hong, Youchong (August 2002). 中国琥珀昆虫志 (1 ed.). Beijing: Beijing Science and Technology Press. pp. x + 653. ISBN 9787530426227. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b Fisher, Brian L. (16 October 2025). "Replacement names for junior homonyms in ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)". ZooKeys. 1256: 81–113. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1256.162607. PMC 12550506. PMID 41141414. Retrieved 13 February 2026.