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Q&A ViewAttendees 7

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

10-Minute Paper

SysEB: Social Insects

The first fossil tiger ant of the genus Neoponera (Ponerinae: Formicidae)

Wednesday, November 3, 2021
3:06 PM – 3:18 PM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 403-404
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Gianpiero Fiorentino

    Ph.D. Student
    New Jersey Institute of Technology
    Newark, New Jersey

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Phillip Barden

    Assistant Professor
    New Jersey Institute of Technology
    Newark, New Jersey

The subfamily Ponerinae is among the most morphologically diverse and species-rich groups of ants in the world. Although these ants are almost exclusively predators, they are known to occupy a broad spectrum of predatory niches, ranging from cryptobiotic to epigaeic. Within this clade, the genus Neoponera Emery, 1901 stands out, presenting the broadest ecological and morphological radiation, as well as one of the widest distributional ranges of any neotropical ponerine. However, this genus has one of the most complex evolutionary histories, and until recently, was only one of a group of five separate genera. Herein, a new species of the genus Neoponera is described from Miocene-aged Dominican amber. Today, there are no known Neoponera species in the Greater Antilles, indicating that the group has undergone local extinction within the Caribbean. By applying linear morphometrics to a majority of described species of Neoponera, we situated the new fossil species within an extant and well-defined species group. Similarly, we applied linear morphometrics to the extant predator ants of the Greater Antilles to evaluate the history and evolution of large predatory ant species on the islands. Overall, our results here demonstrate that the Genus Neoponera is significantly older than previously believed, possibly having diversified during the mid- to late Oligocene. These ants were among the few large predatory ants present on the islands, a niche that was mostly occupied by ponerines. Preliminary results here indicate that this niche has mostly been conserved in spite of the extinction of this fossil species.