Myrmica rudis

Introduction

Myrmica rudis is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens preserved in Baltic amber and Rovno amber from the late Eocene period, approximately 37.8-33.9 million years ago . Workers measured 5.6-5.9 mm in total body length, making them comparable in size to many modern Myrmica species . The species was originally described as Macromischa rudis by Mayr in 1868,later transferred to the extinct genus Nothomyrmica by Wheeler in 1915,and finally placed in the genus Myrmica by Radchenko et al. in 2007 . The species name 'rudis' comes from Latin, meaning 'coarse' or 'rough', referring to the very coarse body sculpture that distinguishes this species . This is the most abundant Myrmica species in the fossil record, with 17 specimens known - twice the number of all other amber Myrmica species combined .