''Eickwortapis'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of sweat bee in the Halictidae subfamily Halictinae which contains the single species ''Eickwortapis dominicana''. The genus name ''Eickwortapis'' is derived from a combination of ''Eickwort'' in honor of halictid systematist Dr. George Eickwort and the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''apis'', meaning "bee". The species is named in reference to the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

(

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...

stage)

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

from deposits on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

which entombs the specimens. The species, averaging long, was described from two partial females and a single complete male specimen in one polished piece of amber which is housed in the Poinar Amber Collection at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. The male is numbered "H 10-70" and designated the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, while the two females are numbered "H 10-70B" and ""H 10-70C" are both designated Paratypes. The amber specimens with the three bees was first studied by Drs Charles Michener & George Poinar. They published the

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

in the '' Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society'' volume number 69 and published in 1996. The male is well preserved in a curled position with the metasoma and the posterior surface of the propedium visible. Female paratype "H 10-70B" is mostly complete however the majority of the head was removed during polishing of the amber, likewise the female paratype "H 10-70C" is also a partial due to the dorsum of the thorax and vertex being removed. In general ''Eickwortapis'' has a blackish body with an indistinct metallic coloration, possibly brassy greenish. The wing veins and stigma of the females are black while those of the male are a brown tone. The underside of the males antenna are yellowish brown with the males legs being a brownish. ''Eickwortapis'' is one of only five Halictidae genera which are known from the Dominican amber record, and one of three which are totally extinct. Closely related to the extinct genus ''Nesagapostemon'' and the living ''Caenohalictus'', ''Eickwortapis'' is placed with both in the halicted tribe Caenohalictini. It can be identified from ''Nesagapostemon'' and ''Caenohalictus'' by a group of features. The basal area of the Propodeum, not slanting in profile, is only half of the length of the vertical posterior surface in ''Nesagapostemon''. ''Eickwortapis'' has a longer basal area on the Propodeum and it does slant in profile. The living species ''Caenohalictus eberhardorum'' has long hairs on the eyes and denser scopa. The ''Eickwortapis'' holotype is the only male halictid to have been documented from Dominican amber.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5348741

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...

Fossil bee genera Burdigalian life Neogene Dominican Republic Miocene insects of North America Prehistoric insects of the Caribbean Fauna of Hispaniola Insects of the Dominican Republic Fossils of the Dominican Republic Dominican amber Fossil taxa described in 1996 Taxa named by Charles Duncan Michener Taxa named by George Poinar Jr.