Platythyrea dlusskyi

Introduction

Platythyrea dlusskyi is an extinct ant species known from Early Eocene amber approximately 53.5 million years old, making it the oldest confidently dated member of an extant ant genus and the earliest known Ponerine ant . The specimen measures about 8mm in body length and was identified as either a worker or a possible ergatoid (wingless) queen . This species was discovered in Oise amber from France and shows that the genus Platythyrea has remained largely unchanged for over 50 million years . The genus belongs to the subfamily Ponerinae and tribe Platythyreini, and extant relatives are humid tropical ants that live in twigs, fallen dead trees, and cavities, with larger subtropical African species living underground .