Scientists at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have uncovered the first fossil evidence of a species of dirt ant, Basiceros enana, that lived in the Caribbean over 16 million years ago. The ancient ant, preserved in amber from the Dominican Republic, has provided new insights into the evolutionary history of this elusive insect group.
Dirt ants are known for their ability to blend in with the ground and are rarely seen in the wild. However, the fossil discovery sheds light on how these ants may have inhabited the Caribbean before local extinction occurred during the Miocene epoch (23-5.3 million years ago). The finding suggests that ancient land bridges may have allowed them to migrate from the mainland to the Caribbean.
The fossil ant is smaller than its modern relatives, measuring only 5.13 millimeters in length. It possesses distinctive morphological characteristics, including specialized hairs for adhering soil and leaf litter particles against its body. These features are similar to those found in modern dirt ants, which allows scientists to infer that these traits were present at least 16 million years ago.
The discovery of Basiceros enana raises questions about how the ant group reached their present-day habitats. It also underscores the complex evolutionary history of life on Earth and highlights the importance of fossils in understanding the evolution of a lineage.
The study’s findings suggest that the embiggening of these ants was relatively rapid, with some species doubling in size over 20 million years. This challenges previous hypotheses that these ants were ancestrally large and shrunk over time.
Understanding the evolutionary history of Basiceros enana can provide valuable insights into why some groups of organisms undergo extinction and others survive for millions of years. The study’s findings highlight the need to protect biodiversity and mitigate modern human-driven extinctions.
Source: https://news.njit.edu/first-caribbean-dirt-ant-found-16-million-year-old-amber