Ponera mayri

Introduction

Ponera mayri is an extinct ant species known only from Eocene amber fossils, approximately 44-49 million years old . Only male specimens have been described, with a body length of approximately 3-4 mm . The species is found in Baltic amber from northern Europe and Rovno amber from Ukraine . It lived in ancient forest ecosystems. This species is often confused with Heteroponera mayri, a living ant species from Australia . Ponera mayri itself cannot be kept in captivity as it is extinct.