Camponotites tokunagai

†Camponotites tokunagai Temporal range: Ypresian, Early Eocene K Pa Eo Ol Mi Pl Fushun amber, Liaoning, China
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Genus:	Camponotites
Species:	†C. tokunagai
Binomial name
†Camponotites tokunagai (Naora, 1933)

The taxonomic placement of C. tokunagai is highly doubtful. The author’s drawing of the wing not only does not correspond to Camponotus venation but is not comparable to any type of wing venation in ants. Additional study will be required to determine the correct treatment of this taxon (Perfilieva, 2022).

Boudinot et al. (2024) - These fossils could be considered unidentifiable to species, hence invalid, but are here treated as incertae sedis in Camponotus to highlight their existence. Critically, because of the lack of morphological information, it is possible that a number of these taxa belong to other genera of Camponotini (see Ward et al. (2016) and Ward & Boudinot (2021)). Reexamination of the original material is necessary in all cases (Boudinot et al. (2024), Note 11).

To prevent the uncritical usage of unidentifiable fossils attributed to Camponotus for macroevolutionary analysis, this species has been transferred to the form genus Camponotites. A form genus is a classificatory category used for fossils which are similar in appearance but cannot be reliably assigned to an established genus, in this case Camponotus. See Camponotites for further justification for this treatment. Until then, it is placed within Camponotites, noting that the taxa placed within this genus are unlikely to be closely related to each other.

Curiously, while Boudinot et al. (2024) transfer this taxon to Camponotites, they include this note (Note 10, page 147): From the illustration provided in the original description, it is not possible to confidently identify the specimen as a member of Camponotus. We retain this species as incertae sedis in the genus to encourage future work on the fossil, if possible.

Distribution

This taxon was described from Fushun amber, Liaoning, China (Ypresian, Early Eocene).

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• †tokunagai. †Camponotus tokunagai Naora, 1933: 208, pl. 19, B1 (q.) FUSHUN AMBER (China: Liaoning, Eocene).
  • Status as species: Burnham, 1979: 116; Bolton, 1995b: 127.
  • Combination in Camponotites: Boudinot et al., 2024: 144.

References

• Barden, P., Engel, M.S. 2020. Fossil social insects. Encyclopedia of Social Insects, Springer, Cham (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_45-1).
• Boudinot, B.E., Bock, B.L., Weingardt, M., Tröger, D., Batelka, J., LI, D., Richter, A., Pohl, H., Moosdorf, O.T.D., Jandausch, K., Hammel, J.U., Beutel, R. G. 2024. Et latet et lucet: Discoveries from the Phyletisches Museum amber and copal collection in Jena, Germany. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 711, 111–176 (doi:10.3897/dez.71.112433).
• Naora, N. 1933. Notes on some fossil insects from East-Asiatic continent, with descriptions of three new species. Entomol. World Tokyo 1: 208-219 (page 208, pl. 19 caste? described)
• Perfilieva, K.S. 2022. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from localities of the Russian Far East (Amgu, Velikaya Kema). Paleontological Journal, 56(4), 412–425 (doi:10.1134/s0031030122040086).