Paleontologists describe the oldest known members of Haidomyrmecinae – An extinct subfamily of ants that were only during the Cretaceous period – preserved as an impression of limestone rocks in the Krato Formation in northeastern Brazil.
Vulcanidris cratensisholotype. Scale bar – 2 mm. Image credit: Lepeco et al. , doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.023.
It has been named Vulcanidris cratensisthe new ant species lived 113 million years ago (early Cretaceous period).
This species represents the oldest and most definitive ant known in science, and is also the most complete evidence of the early evolution of ants in the fossil record.
“Vulcanidris cratensis The author, Dr. Anson Lepeco, a paleontologist at Dr. Zloria da Universad de Sao Paulo, stated:
“What makes this discovery particularly interesting is its belong to an extinct “hell ant”, known for its strange predatory adaptation. ”
“Even though it is part of an ancient lineage, the species already exhibits highly specialized anatomical features, suggesting unique hunting behaviors.”
The oldest previous ants were found in France and Myanmar and were preserved in amber instead of limestone.
The presence of hell ants in Brazil indicates that ants are already widely distributed and diversified early in their evolution.
“There was an hell ants explained by Amber, and this was the first time I could visualize them in a rock fossil,” Dr. Lepeco said.
Dr. Lepeco and his colleagues discovered a very well-preserved Ant specimen and systematically examined one of the world’s largest collections of fossil insects from. Krato Layera deposit known for its exceptional fossil preservation.
“When we encountered this extraordinary specimen, we quickly recognized its importance not only as a new species, but also as a potentially conclusive evidence of ants in the Krato Formation,” Dr. Lepeco said.
“The finding highlights the importance of a thorough investigation of existing collections either privately or in museums, and highlights the fauna of Brazilian paleontology and the country’s unexposed fossil insects.”
Using microcomputed tomography imaging, paleontologists discovered it Vulcanidris cratensis It was previously closely related to hell ants, known only from specimens preserved in Burma mber, Myanmar.
This finding shows that ants must have been widely distributed worldwide and repeatedly crossed Cretaceous lands.
But what surprised them most was the professional traits of Hell’s Ants.
“We were hoping to find the features of the hellish ant, but we were shocked by the features of the feeding device,” Dr. Lepeco said.
“Unlike modern ants with laterally moving mandibles, this species had a mandible with face and face projections running forward in front of their head and eyes.”
“Finding such anatomically specialized ants for 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly and complex adaptations these insects have developed.”
“The complex forms suggest that even these early ants had evolved sophisticated plundering strategies that were already very different from their modern counterparts.”
“The discovery of this new ant specimen raises broader questions about the evolutionary pressures that have led to the unique adaptation of hell’s ants.”
“Advanced imaging tools allow us to explore these fossil specimens in greater detail than ever before.”
Discovery of Vulcanidris cratensis Reported in a paper It’s published in the journal today Current Biology.
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Anderson Repeco et al. Ants from Hell from the Lower Cretaceous period in Brazil. Current BiologyPublished online on April 24, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.023
Source: www.sci.news
