Formica palaeopolonica

Introduction

Formica palaeopolonica is an extinct ant species known only from Late Eocene European amber, approximately 44-49 million years old. Workers had a compact body with a slightly elongated head, small eyes, and five-toothed mandibles. The body was covered in coarse shagreened sculpture that gave the ant a matte appearance in life. The species bore short semi-erect hairs on the antennal scape and legs, a feature that distinguishes it from similar extinct species like F. phaethusa . This ant is known from Baltic amber and Rovno amber deposits, representing a Formica species that lived in European forests during the Eocene period when the climate was considerably warmer than today .