Bradoponera similis

Introduction

Bradoponera similis is an extinct ant species that lived about 44 million years ago during the Late Eocene. It is known from a single worker preserved in Bitterfeld amber from Germany . Workers were about 2.5 mm long, with a robust, compressed body . Their head was longer than wide, rectangular, and they had 12-segmented antennae ending in a very large terminal segment . This species belongs to the subfamily Proceratiinae, a group that includes some of the most primitive living ants. The genus Bradoponera is entirely fossil, and this species represents an ancient lineage that died out long ago . Because it is extinct, Bradoponera similis cannot be kept in captivity. No living specimens have ever been found. It was first described in 2009 by Dlussky from a single worker, and no additional material has turned up since . Related living Proceratiinae ants exist, but this specific species exists only as fossils in ancient amber.