A golden opportunity in the Caribbean has led to the discovery of an extinct “dirt ant” that has been confined within a piece of amber for 16 million years. Dirt ants (Basiceros) are true experts of camouflage that can blend in with the ground, and now, a fossilized member of the group is shedding light on their complex evolutionary history.
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B describes the species as Basiceros enana and its link to modern dirt ants. Although the species disappeared sometime during the Miocene epoch (23 million years to 5.3 million years ago), the new fossil specimen could still provide insight into solving local extinction issues that have become increasingly relevant in the modern age.
Modern dirt ants — able to hide in dirt using particle-binding hairs on their bodies — inhabit rainforests ranging from Costa Rica to southern Brazil. The ...
