Emplastus obliquus

Introduction

Emplastus obliquus is an extinct ant species known only from a single fossilized wing imprint discovered in the Kizi Formation of the Russian Far East, dating to the Lower Oligocene epoch (approximately 33-23 million years ago). This species was formally described in 2022 by K.S. Perfilieva based on wing venation characteristics. The forewing measures 6.7-7.0 mm in length, with a distinctive parallelogram-shaped mediocubital cell that distinguishes it from all other known Emplastus species. The wing venation shows closest similarity to Britaneuretus anglicus, an extinct ant from England. As a fossil species, no living specimens exist, and this ant cannot be kept in captivity.