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Boltonimecia
| †Boltonimecia Temporal range: Campanian, Late Cretaceous Foremost Formation amber, Alberta, Canada | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Zigrasimeciinae |
| Genus: | †Boltonimecia Borysenko, 2017 |
| Type species | |
| Sphecomyrma canadensis, now Boltonimecia canadensis | |
| Diversity | |
| 1 fossil species (Species Checklist) | |
Identification
Keys including this Genus
Distribution
This taxon is known from Foremost Formation amber, Alberta, Canada (Campanian, Late Cretaceous).
Discussion
Cao et al. (2020) - Conclusion: Our study of Zigrasimecia hoelldobleri and Protozigrasimecia chauli reveals both morphological and functional diversity in stem Formicidae. The holotype of Z. hoelldobleri is shockingly well-preserved for light microscopy, and has yielded insights into mandibular, labral, and clypeal function of the Burmese Zigrasimeciini. Based on the interpreted mouthpart function, we colloquially recognize Zigrasimecia and Protozigrasimecia as the iron maiden ants. Among the Zigrasimeciini, we severely doubt that the monotypic genus Boltonimecia from Canadian amber is correct to include, and recommend revised study. In summary, there are ample opportunities for discovery, characterization, and evolutionary analyses of the Zigrasimeciini, which we have attempted to facilitate through the present work.
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- †BOLTONIMECIA [†Zigrasimeciinae]
- †Boltonimecia Borysenko, 2017: 3. Type-species: †Sphecomyrma canadensis, by original designation.
Taxonomic history
- †Boltonimecia in †Sphecomyrminae, †Zigrasimeciini: Borysenko, 2017: 3, 18.
References
- Borysenko, L.H. 2017. Description of a new genus of primitive ants from Canadian amber, with the study of relationships between stem- and crown-group ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 570: 1–57.
- Boudinot, B.E., Perrichot, V., Chaul, J.C.M. 2020. †Camelosphecia gen. nov., lost ant-wasp intermediates from the mid-Cretaceous (Hymenoptera, Formicoidea). ZooKeys 1005, 21–55 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1005.57629).
- Boudinot, B.E., Richter, A., Katzke, J., Chaul, J.C.M., Keller, R.A., Economo, E.P., Beutel, R.G., Yamamoto, S. 2022. Evidence for the evolution of eusociality in stem ants and a systematic revision of †Gerontoformica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society XX:1-35 (doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab097/6523228).
- Cao, H., Boudinot, B.E., Wang, Z., Miao, X., Shih, C., Ren, D., Gao, T. 2020. Two new iron maiden ants from Burmese amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: †Zigrasimeciini). Myrmecological News. 30:161-173. doi:10.25849/myrmecol.news_030:161
- Chaul, J.C.M. 2023. A revision of the Cretaceous ant genus Zigrasimecia Barden & Grimaldi, 2013 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: †Zigrasimeciinae). Zootaxa 5325(3), 301–341 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5325.3.1).
- Zhuang, Y., Ran, H., Li, X., Feng, C., Liu, Y. 2021. A new species of the iron maiden ant based on an alate female from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: †Zigrasimecia). Cretaceous Research 130, 105056 (doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105056).