Pachycondyla eocenica

Introduction

Pachycondyla eocenica is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens found in the Messel Pit deposits in Germany, dating to the Eocene epoch about 48 million years ago . The only known specimen is a winged queen (gyne) with a total body length of approximately 8.8 mm, showing robust morphology typical of ponerine ants . This species lived in warm, humid subtropical forests surrounding a volcanic lake, as indicated by the Messel fossil site . The fossil provides rare insight into ancient ant diversity, with well-preserved details like head proportions and mandible structure, but no living colonies exist today .