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Brownimecia inconspicua
| †Brownimecia inconspicua Temporal range: Early Campanian, Late Cretaceous North Carolina amber, Neuse River, North Carolina, United States | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Brownimeciinae |
| Genus: | Brownimecia |
| Species: | †B. inconspicua |
| Binomial name | |
| †Brownimecia inconspicua Sosiak, Cockx, Suarez, McKellar & Barden, 2024 | |
Identification
In general, with high degree of similarity to Brownimecia clavata. However:
- mandibles narrow and elongate, with broad, blunt apices extending near base of opposing mandible
- frontal area bulbous and projecting anteriad
- antenna with faI longer than pedicel
- compound eye slightly larger (0.5 of head length)
- propodeum with posterior surface longer than dorsal surface
- petiole longer and narrower than in B. clavata (in dorsal view)
- anterolateral corners of petiole bear fine longitudinal carinae on dorsal surface that extend one-third of petiolar length
- metasomal segment III slightly longer than segment II, with cinctus on segment III
Brownimecia inconspicua and the known worker of B. clavata, are similar in size and morphology. Among the morphological differences, the easiest diagnostic characters to differentiate B. inconspicua from B. clavata are the presence of relatively spatulate mandibular apices, and the fact that the propodeum has a dorsal surface that is longer than the posterior surface, giving the appearance that the region extends dorsally on par with the dorsal surface of the promesonotum, and that metasomal III is the longest in B. inconspicua.
Distribution
This taxon was described from North Carolina amber, Neuse River, North Carolina, United States (Early Campanian, Late Cretaceous).
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- †inconspicua. †Brownimecia inconspicua Sosiak et al., 2024: 2, 13, figs. 1D, S3 (w.) U.S.A. (North Carolina, Cretaceous).
Type Material
- Holotype, specimen AMNH-NC-MSE-1 from Campanian amber of North Carolina (Locality 34, lignite beds along the Neuse River in the region of Goldsboro, NC). Single female worker with hemipteran syninclusions (probable Aphidoidea). Specimen now in a small, flat piece of yellowish amber, embedded in epoxy block measuring 8 mm.