Paraneuretus tornquisti

Introduction

Paraneuretus tornquisti is an extinct ant species that lived during the late Eocene period, approximately 37.8-33.9 million years ago. It is known only from fossilized amber specimens found in Baltic amber and Rovno amber from Ukraine . Workers had a total body length of approximately 8.6 mm . The species was originally described by Wheeler in 1915 based on 22 workers and two males preserved in Baltic amber . This species belongs to the subfamily Aneuretinae, a primitive group of ants that was once diverse during the Eocene but is now nearly extinct, with only Aneuretus simoni remaining . Paraneuretus tornquisti had an inflated, rounded propodeum without teeth, an antennal scape longer than the head, and a visible sting . The body was smooth with sparse hairs on the head and mesosoma, and abundant long hairs on the gaster starting from the third segment .