Aphaenogaster oligocenica

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Aphaenogaster oligocenica is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens preserved in Baltic amber dating to the Late Eocene epoch, approximately 37.8 to 33.9 million years ago . Wheeler first described this species in 1915 from a single well-preserved worker specimen, but the holotype is almost certainly lost today . Researchers later recorded additional specimens from Baltic and Bitterfeld amber deposits, though Radchenko (2025) suggests these may actually belong to Aphaenogaster sommerfeldti . This species belongs to the subfamily Myrmicinae and tribe Stenammini, representing one of nine Aphaenogaster species certainly identified from Late Eocene European ambers . As an extinct fossil species, no living colonies exist and captive keeping is impossible.