Unearthed: The 113-Million-Year-Old ‘Hell Ant’ Fossil That Could Rewrite Ant Evolution Forever
What’s more, this fossil is remarkable for other reasons aside from its age. Its striking preservation is now giving scientists new insights into how these fearsome hell ants evolved and spread across the prehistoric world.
The Chance Discovery Of The Oldest Ant Fossil Ever Found
The oldest known ant fossil ever found was indeed discovered entirely by chance. According to a press release, Anderson Lepeco of Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil was checking rocks from the Crato Formation for fossils when he came across the familiar shape of an ant.
According to a new study published by Lepeco and his team in the journal Current Biology, Lepeco had not only found an ant, but the oldest known ant specimen ever documented. This fossil was 113 million years old, roughly 13 million years older than the previously-oldest ant fossils, which had been discovered in amber deposits in France and Myanmar.
This discovery is furthermore exciting because Lepeco and his team have found a new species of hell ant, known for its “bizarre predatory adaptations.” Lepeco and his team have dubbed the new ant species Vulcanidris cratensis after the Vulcano family that donated the rock deposits where it was discovered.
Anderson LepecoThe 113-million-year-old hell ant found in Brazil, as seen from several different angles.
Unlike modern ants, which have mandibles that move laterally, this hell ant had a mandible that ran forward alongside its head, so that it could impale its prey and move it into its mouth as if by forklift.
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