Cephalotes sucinus

Introduction

Cephalotes sucinus is an extinct ant species preserved in Dominican amber from the Miocene epoch, approximately 15-20 million years old . Like its living relatives, this was a turtle ant - named for their distinctive broad, flattened head and ability to tuck their gaster underneath like a turtle's shell. Workers measured approximately 5mm in total length, with a broad head, spiny mesosoma, and characteristic expanded gastral lamellae. The species can be identified by its sparse body foveae (small depressions) and the orange to ferruginous coloration on the frontal carinae, vertexal angles, and gastral lamellae . This fossil represents one of many Cephalotes species that lived in the Caribbean region during the Miocene, when the climate was warmer and the islands supported tropical forests.