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A new trap-jawed ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Haidomyrmecini) from Canadian Late Cretaceous amber

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2013

Ryan C. McKellar ,
James R.N. Glasier  and
Michael S. Engel
Ryan C. McKellar*
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology (Paleoentomology), Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1501 Crestline Drive – Suite 140, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States of America Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E3
James R.N. Glasier
Affiliation:
Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 814 General Services Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H1
Michael S. Engel
Affiliation:
Division of Entomology (Paleoentomology), Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1501 Crestline Drive – Suite 140, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States of America
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: ryan.mckellar@ku.edu).
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Abstract

A new genus and species are described within the extinct tribe Haidomyrmecini, and tentatively placed within the subfamily Sphecomyrminae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Haidoterminus cippusnew genus and species expands the distribution of the bizarre, exclusively Cretaceous, trap-jawed Haidomyrmecini beyond their previous records in mid-Cretaceous Burmese and French amber, and into Laurentia. The new material from the Grassy Lake, Alberta, Canada collecting locality also provides evidence that these highly specialised, likely arboreal, ants persisted for an additional 20 million years, reaching the Late Cretaceous. Morphological features of H. cippus, such as the presence of an elongate antennomere II (pedicel), further support the argument that Haidomyrmecini may not actually belong within the subfamily Sphecomyrminae, and may warrant recognition at the subfamily level or inclusion as a highly autapomorphic clade within another subfamily. Despite the introduction of new fossil material, and the clarity of preservation in Canadian amber, the mystery of how Haidomyrmecini fed remains unsolved.

Résumé

Nous décrivons un nouveau genre et une nouvelle espèce de la tribu fossile des Haidomyrmecini et les plaçons avec hésitation dans la sous-famille des Sphecomyrminae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Haidoterminus cippusnouveau genre et nouvelle espèce élargit la répartition des Haidomyrmecini à mâchoires en piège, insectes bizarres connus exclusivement du Crétacé, au-delà des récoltes signalées dans l'ambre de France et de Birmanie du Crétacé moyen jusque dans la Laurentie. Ces nouveaux spécimens provenant du site de récolte de Grassy Lake, Alberta, Canada, indiquent aussi que ces fourmis fortement spécialisées et vraisemblablement arboricoles ont persisté pendant 20 millions d'années supplémentaires pour atteindre de Crétacé supérieur. Des caractéristiques morphologiques de H. cippus, telles que la présence d'un antennomère II (pédicelle) allongé, fournissent des arguments supplémentaires à la thèse voulant que les Haidomyrmecini n'appartiennent pas vraiment à la sous-famille des Sphecomyrminae, mais qu'ils doivent être reconnus comme une sous-famille particulière ou alors être inclus comme un clade fortement autapomorphique dans une autre sous-famille. Malgré la découverte de ce nouveau matériel fossile et l'excellente qualité de sa conservation dans l'ambre canadien, le mystère du mode d'alimentation des Haidomyrmecini reste entier.

Type
Biodiversity & Evolution
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 145 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 454 - 465
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2013 

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