Aphaenogaster oligocenica

Introduction

Aphaenogaster oligocenica is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens preserved in Baltic amber dating to the Late Eocene epoch, approximately 37.8 to 33.9 million years ago . Wheeler first described this species in 1915 from a single well-preserved worker specimen, but the holotype is almost certainly lost today . Researchers later recorded additional specimens from Baltic and Bitterfeld amber deposits, though Radchenko (2025) suggests these may actually belong to Aphaenogaster sommerfeldti . This species belongs to the subfamily Myrmicinae and tribe Stenammini, representing one of nine Aphaenogaster species certainly identified from Late Eocene European ambers . As an extinct fossil species, no living colonies exist and captive keeping is impossible.