Dolichoderus vlaskini

Introduction

Dolichoderus vlaskini is an extinct ant species known only from fossilized males preserved in Eocene amber, approximately 34-56 million years old. Only the male caste has been described from the fossil record - no workers or queens have been identified. Males measure approximately 4mm in total body length with distinctive features including a short scape that does not reach the posterior eye margin, forward-displaced oval eyes, and small blunt tubercles on the propodeum. The species was originally described from Rovno amber and is also known from other European Eocene amber deposits including Gulf of Gdańsk, Bitterfeld, and Jutland. Based on the presence of propodeal tubercles, researchers suggest it may belong to the Dolichoderus cornutus group, whose worker castes had longer spines on the propodeum .