Pachycondyla eocenica

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Pachycondyla eocenica is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens found in the Messel Pit deposits in Germany, dating to the Eocene epoch about 48 million years ago . The only known specimen is a winged queen (gyne) with a total body length of approximately 8.8 mm, showing robust morphology typical of ponerine ants . This species lived in warm, humid subtropical forests surrounding a volcanic lake, as indicated by the Messel fossil site . The fossil provides rare insight into ancient ant diversity, with well-preserved details like head proportions and mandible structure, but no living colonies exist today .