Cariridris
†Cariridris Temporal range: Aptian, Cretaceous Crato, Brazil | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Sphecidae |
Genus: | †Cariridris Brandão & Martins-Neto, 1990 |
Type species | |
Cariridris bipetiolata |
This genus has been transferred to the family Sphecidae, possibly in the (sub)family Ampulicidae.
The genus Cariridris has a long taxonomic history since it was first described as an ant (Brandão et al., 1990). Since then it has been placed in the Ampulicidae (Ohl, 2004) or treated as belonging to the Sphecidae (Dlussky and Rasnitsyn, 2003; Dlussky 2012). In 2007, new material was examined by Osten (2007), and Cariridris was returned to the Formicidae, being placed within the subfamily Myrmeciinae. However, this treatment lacked justification and no illustrations were provided to support this hypothesis. Because of this, Jouault & Nel (2021) did not consider this taxon to belong to the family Formicidae, but did not speculate on its proper placement.
Identification
Distribution
This taxon is known from Crato, Brazil (Aptian, Cretaceous).
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- †CARIRIDRIS [Sphecidae]
- †Cariridris Brandão & Martins-Neto, 1990: 201. Type-species: †Cariridris bipetiolata, by original designation.
Taxonomic history
- †Cariridris incertae sedis in Myrmeciinae: Brandão & Martins-Neto, 1990: 203; Brandão, 1991: 336; Bolton, 1994: 73; Bolton, 1995b: 23.
- †Cariridris incertae sedis in Formicidae: Bolton, 2003: 263.
- †Cariridris as genus: all authors.
- †Cariridris excluded from Formicidae, incertae sedis in Hymenoptera, Aculeata: Grimaldi, et al. 1997: 7; Ward & Brady, 2003: 362.
- †Cariridris in Myrmeciinae: Osten, 2007: 353.
- †Cariridris excluded from Formicidae, incertae sedis in Ampulicidae: Rasnitsyn, 2002: 249; Dlussky & Rasnitsyn, 2002: 418; Dlussky, 2012: 288 (in text).
- †Cariridris excluded from Formicidae, transferred to Sphecidae: Verhaagh, 1996: 11; Jouault & Nel, 2021: 1, 5 (exact placement not specified).
Taxonomic Notes
Dlussky & Rasnitsyn (2003) treated this genus (and its sole species) as belonging to the family Sphecidae rather than Formicidae. They state: C. bipetiolata as described and figured by Brandão et al. (1989) looks very similar to an unnamed Santana fossil kept at the American Museum Natural History (New York, New York, USA) and described as belonging to either Sphecidae (Ampulicinae) or Dryinidae (Darling, Sharkey, 1990). One of us (APR) jointly with W.J. Pulawski of the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco, California, USA) have studied that fossil (AMNH 44108) and found it belonging to Sphecidae (probably to subfamily Ampulicinae) rather than to Formicidae. That is why we maintain here our earlier conclusion that Cariridris is a genus of Sphecidae (Rasnitsyn, 1990; Dlussky, 1998).
Osten (2007) examined additional material and returned Cariridris to the Formicidae, placing it within the subfamily Myrmeciinae. However, this treatment lacked justification and no illustrations were provided to support this hypothesis.
Dlussky (2012) followed the treatment of Dlussky & Rasnitsyn (2003) and considered this genus to be incertae sedis in Ampulicidae. Unfortunately, it appears he was unaware of the specimens examined by Osten (2007) (as he does not cite this paper) and did not comment on its placement within the Formicidae.
Jouault & Nel (2021) reviewed the available literature and concluded that this taxon does not belong within the ants, but did not provide details on its current placement.
References
- Barden, P. 2017. Fossil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): ancient diversity and the rise of modern lineages. Myrmecological News 24: 1-30.
- Bolton, B. 1994. Identification guide to the ant genera of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 222 pp. (page 73, Cariridris incertae sedis in Myrmeciinae)
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 134, Cariridris incertae sedis in Myrmeciinae)
- Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 263, Cariridris incertae sedis in Formicidae)
- Brandão, C.R.F., Martins-Neto, R.G. & Vulcano, M.A. 1990. The earliest known fossil ant (first southern hemisphere Mesozoic record). Psyche 96 (1989): 195-208. [20.iv.1990]
- Dlussky G.M. 1998. [Formicoidea of Cretaceous and age of ants]. Materialy X Symposiuma "Muravji i zaschita lesa". Moscow.P.5-8 [in Russian].
- Dlussky, G.M. 2012. New fossil ants of the subfamily Myrmeciinae from Germany. Paleontological Journal 46 (3): 288-292.
- Dlussky, G.M., Rasnitsyn, A.P. 2003. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Formation Green River and some other Middle Eocene deposits of North America. Russian Entomological Journal 11(4): 411-436.
- Fernandez, F., Guerrero, R.J., Sánchez-Restrepo, A.F. 2021. Sistemática y diversidad de las hormigas neotropicales. Revista Colombiana de Entomología 47, 1–20 (doi:10.25100/socolen.v47i1.11082).
- Grimaldi, D.; Agosti, D.; Carpenter, J. M. 1997. New and rediscovered primitive ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, and their phylogenetic relationships. American Museum Novitates 3208: 1-43 (page 7, Cariridris incertae sedis in Aculeata)
- Jouault, C., Nel, A. 2021. The oldest Cenozoic ant fossil: †Tyrannomecia gen. nov. (Formicidae: Myrmeciinae) from the Palaeocene Menat Formation (France). Historical Biology, 1–8 (doi:10.1080/08912963.2021.2010192).
- Osten, T. 2007. 11.18 Hymenoptera: bees, wasps and ants. Pp. 350-365 in: Martill, D. M., Bechly, G., Loveridge R. F. (eds.) 2007. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil: Window into an Ancient World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 625 pp. (doi:10.1017/CBO9780511535512).
- Rasnitsyn A.P.1990. Table 1. Known Cretaceous Hymenoptera, in Darling D.Ch., Sharkey M.J., Order Hymenoptera, in D. A. Grimaldi (ed.): Insects from the Santana Formation, Lower Cretaceous, of Brazil. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 195: 124-129.
- Verhaagh, M. 1996. Warum die älteste bekannte Ameise keine ist (Hymenoptera). Beitr. Hymenopterol.-Tag. Stuttg. (page 11, Cariridris in Sphecidae)
- Ward, P., and Brady, S. 2003. Phylogeny and biogeography of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Invertebrate Systematics 17(3): 361-386 (page 362, Cariridris incertae sedis in Aculeata)