Paraponera dieteri

Introduction

Paraponera dieteri is an extinct ant known only from fossils in Miocene Dominican amber, dating to around 15–20 million years ago . It's a rare case of a big ant preserved in amber, most amber ants are under 10 mm, but P. dieteri workers measured about 19.8 mm in total length . That's smaller than its living relative, the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata,22.7–25.1 mm), but still huge for a fossil ant . The genus Paraponera once lived in the Caribbean, but is now locally extinct there, no living colonies remain on the islands .