Tetraponera ocellata

Introduction

Tetraponera ocellata is an extinct ant species known only from Eocene Baltic amber, dating back approximately 44 million years . Workers measured 5.0-9.5mm in body length, making them medium-sized ants with distinctive features including a longer-than-wide head with three ocelli (simple eyes on top of the head), oval flat eyes, and a well-developed peduncle connecting to a high, thick petiole node . The body was weakly shiny with dense decumbent pubescence (short, downward-pressed hairs) covering most surfaces . This species belonged to the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae, an arboreal group still alive today with species like Tetraponera allaborans . As a fossil species from Baltic amber, T. ocellata represents a unique window into ant diversity during the Eocene epoch when the climate was much warmer and forests covered what is now Northern Europe . This species has been found in multiple amber deposits including Baltic, Bitterfeld, Jutland, and Rovno ambers, indicating it was widespread across central and eastern Europe during the late Eocene .