Tetraponera simplex

Introduction

Tetraponera simplex is an extinct ant species known from Eocene Baltic amber, approximately 44 million years old . Workers measured 3.5-6.0 mm in body length, with a subrectangular head, short scapes, and the characteristic features of the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae including an elongated mesosoma and distinct petiole structure . The species was originally described as Sima simplex before being moved to Tetraponera . Like modern Pseudomyrmecinae, Tetraponera simplex likely possessed a well-developed sting, which in living relatives is used to aggressively defend host plants against herbivores. A syninclusion of two T. simplex workers with one worker of Ctenobethylus goepperti has been recorded in Bitterfeld amber, providing a rare glimpse of the ants that coexisted 44 million years ago . This tropical ant species was present in European amber forests during the late Eocene, when the climate was warmer than today . The genus Tetraponera continues today with living species, but T. simplex itself is only known from fossil specimens preserved in amber.