''Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'' 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 ...

species of ant in the genus ''

Pristomyrmex ''Pristomyrmex'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Distribution and habitat The genus is composed of 59 extant species restricted to the Old World tropics and a single extinct species, '' Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'', described fr ...

''. The species is known from a single Late Eocene fossil which was found in Europe.

History and classification

''Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'' is known from a solitary fossil, the holotype, specimen number 1.ii.1969, which is currently in the collections of the University of Copenhagen. The fossil is composed of a mostly complete adult worker which has been preserved as an inclusion in a transparent chunk of

Scandinavian amber A Scandinavian is a resident of Scandinavia or something associated with the region, including: Culture * Scandinavianism, political and cultural movement * Scandinavian design, a design movement of the 1950s * Scandinavian folklore * Scandinavi ...

, also called Danish amber. Scandinavian amber is thought to be similar in age to Baltic, Bitterfeld and Rovno ambers, being approximately late Eocene in age. The four amber faunas have been shown to share 17 ant species in common, which make up over 80% of the specimens in amber collections studied for a 2009 paper. Though a large portion of specimens from Scandinavian amber are of species found in the other ambers, the overall fauna found is notably different from the other three. About twenty-four genera with thirty-five species of ants have been identified as inclusions in Scandinavian amber. The fossil was first studied by paleoentomologists Gennady M. Dlussky of the Moscow State University and A. D. Radchenko of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Their 2011

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 ...

of the new species was published in the '' Russian Entomological Journal''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''rasnitsyni'' is a

patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

honoring Russian paleoentomologist Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn. When described, ''Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'' was the first member of the genus ''Pristomyrmex'' to have been described from the fossil record. The modern species are found primarily in Eastern Asia south through the eastern coast of Australia. Most species live in tropical regions, with the species '' P. punctatus'' ranging north to temperate Japan on the Southern portion of Hokkaido. ''P. rasnitsyni'' is also the first record of the genus from Europe.

Description

The solitary ''Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'' specimen is well preserved with an estimated length of around . The head is shorter than it is wide, with a clypeus sporting teeth on the sides and a single central tooth. The antennae are eleven segments long showing a fully exposed base and clubbed tips composed of three segments. While the mandibles are hard to see, they do show a blunt basal tooth in combination with a large tooth at the apex and an associated shorter tooth next to the apical tooth. The pronotum displays a pair of spines angled upward and rearward and a 40° angle. Both the alitrunk have a notable and coarse reticulated pattern, while the clypeus, petiole, and post-petiole areas are notably smooth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15115810 Eocene insects Prehistoric life of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2011

† 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 ant taxa