Gesomyrmex breviceps

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Gesomyrmex breviceps
Temporal range: Lutetian, Middle Eocene
Messel, Germany
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Gesomyrmecini
Genus: Gesomyrmex
Species: G. breviceps
Binomial name
Gesomyrmex breviceps
Dlussky, Wappler & Wedmann, 2009

Dlussky Wappler Wedmann 2009-15Gesomyrmex-breviceps.jpg

No formal diagnosis or comparative comments were provided when this species was described, only a key for determination. Head seemingly relatively short in specimen, but fossil is poorly preserved and taphonomic sample is limited. Aria et al. (2023) consider this species as species inquirenda.

Identification

Gesomyrmex breviceps, Gesomyrmex flavescens and Gesomyrmex pulcher have relatively disparate morphometrics and are not easily distinguished, complicated by the lack of original diagnoses (Aria et al., 2023).

  • Cephalic morphometrics of gynes for relevant fossil Gesomyrmex species. (a) Head length (HL). (b) Normalized head shape (head length/head width, HRN, squares) and normalized relative eye diameter (eye diameter/head length, HERN, diamonds). Abbreviations: flav., flavescens; germ., germanicus; hoern., hoernesi. (Aria et al., 2023, Fig. 4)

Distribution

This taxon was described from Messel, Germany (Lutetian, Middle Eocene).

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • breviceps. †Gesomyrmex breviceps Dlussky, Wappler & Wedmann, 2009: 11, figs. 4B, 6F (q.) GERMANY.

Description

References