Aphaenogaster antiqua

Introduction

Aphaenogaster antiqua is an extinct ant species known only from a single fossilized worker preserved in Rovno amber from the Late Eocene epoch, approximately 37.8 to 33.9 million years ago . This specimen was discovered in Rivne Province, Ukraine, and represents one of the oldest confirmed members of the extant genus Aphaenogaster . The fossil shows distinctive features including a subrectangular head with rounded occipital corners, relatively long propodeal spines, and unusually short antenna segments where the 2nd through 7th funicular segments are wider than they are long . The legs are relatively short with swollen femora and tibiae . Since this species went extinct over 30 million years ago, it cannot be kept in captivity - no living specimens exist anywhere in the world.