Archimyrmex wedmannae

Introduction

Archimyrmex wedmannae is an extinct species of bulldog ant that lived approximately 47 million years ago during the Middle Eocene epoch. The only known specimen is a fossilized winged queen preserved in the famous Messel Pit in Germany. This was a large ant - around 23 millimeters long - with distinctive long mandibles approximately the length of her head, large oval eyes, and a well-developed sting. The fossil represents the first European record of the genus Archimyrmex, which was previously known only from fossil sites in the United States and Argentina . Because this species is known only from a single fossil impression, we have no information about colony behavior, worker castes, diet, or social structure. The specimen provides only a snapshot of what the reproductive female looked like during the Eocene, when Germany had a warm, tropical climate similar to modern-day Southeast Asia. This species cannot be kept in captivity as it went extinct millions of years before humans evolved.