Aphaenogaster donisthorpei

Introduction

Aphaenogaster donisthorpei is an extinct fossil species known only from a single queen specimen preserved in the Florissant Formation of Colorado, USA, dating to the terminal Eocene epoch approximately 34 million years ago . Described by Carpenter in 1930,this species represents an ancient lineage of the genus Aphaenogaster that lived during a period when the region had a much warmer, subtropical climate . As an extinct species known only from the fossil record, living colonies do not exist and this species cannot be kept in captivity. The specimen provides paleontological insight into the evolutionary history of the genus but offers no practical application for ant keeping.