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Lasius peritulus
| †Lasius peritulus Temporal range: Late Eocene Florissant, Colorado, United States | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Lasiini |
| Genus: | Lasius |
| Species: | †L. peritulus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lasius peritulus (Cockerell, 1927) | |
This is a Lasius s. s. species of the Florissant shales, which deposits are considered lower to middle Oligocene in age (MacGinitie, 1953) and the best North American counterpart of the Baltic amber so far as the preservation of insects is concerned. Despite the fact that these specimens represent finely preserved rock fossils, they are still far inferior to the amber material and cannot be determined accurately beyond placement within the niger-neoniger species group. (Wilson 1955)
Identification
Distribution
This taxon was described from Florissant, Colorado, United States (Late Eocene).
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- †peritulus. †Tetramorium peritulum Cockerell, 1927: 165 (m.) U.S.A. (Oligocene). Combination in Lasius: Carpenter, 1930: 58. See also: Wilson, 1955a: 58.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Queen
Wilson (1955) - Of 129 specimens examined, 5 were in a position to show the basal angle of the mandible, which is the crucial diagnostic structure in the subgenus. Each of the 5 possessed a "niger-type" mandible (see under description of Lasius niger), with the basal tooth as large as the adjacent teeth and aligned with them. Although the material is too badly crushed to allow precise measurements, the total size appears small, toward the lower limit of the range of size variation in niger.
Male
Wilson (1955) - Of 91 specimens examined, 5 showed the entire mandibular outline. In each case this was unmistakably the "niger type", with the masticatory border shallowly impressed in its distal half, the basal angle broadly rounded, and the preapical cleft lacking. Two other specimens showed only the basal angle, which was also broadly rounded. The total size is approximately the same as for the modern Nearctic populations of niger and Lasius americanus.
Type Material
Wilson (1955) - HOLOTYPE. According to Carpenter, the unique type is a well preserved male now located in the British Museum.
References
- Barden, P. 2017. Fossil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): ancient diversity and the rise of modern lineages. Myrmecological News 24: 1-30.
- Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L., Prebus, M.M. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47, 113-151 (doi:10.1111/syen.12522).
- Carpenter, F. M. 1930. The fossil ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 70: 1-66 (page 58, Combination in Lasius)
- Cockerell, T. D. A. 1927. Fossil insects from the Miocene of Colorado. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 9(19): 161-166 (page 165, male described)
- LaPolla, J.S. 2023. Fossil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the early Oligocene Canyon Ferry Reservoir deposit. Palaeoentomology 6(4), 385-397 (doi:10.11646/palaeoentomology.6.4.10).
- 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).
- Wilson, E. O. 1955a. A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 1-201 (page 58, see also)