Gerontoformica cretacica

The holotype of †Gerontoformica cretacica is poorly preserved, as noted by Barden & Grimaldi (2016), with obvious distortions and elongation of the scapes and flagella, and little detail of the body visible. Due to this unfortunate circumstance, we newly consider †G. cretacica to be a nomen dubium. It remains in the cretacica species group of †Gerontoformica, because it is the type species of the genus. However, it will be highly desirable to clarify the identity of this species through examination and description of more Charentese ants. At present, the only distinction between †G. cretacica and the co-eval †Gerontoformica occidentalis that is not apparently affected by preservation is body size, with the former having a longer mesosoma than the latter (2.1 mm vs. 1.4 mm, respectively). Body size is, of course, highly variable among nestmates of crown ants, thus is a weak diagnostic trait when used in isolation and without the quantification of variation across conspecific individuals. (Boudinot et al., 2022)

Distribution
This taxon was described from.

Nomenclature

 * † cretacica. †Gerontoformica cretacica Nel & Perrault, in Nel, Perrault, Perrichot & Néraudeau, 2004: 24, figs. 1, 2 (w.) FRANCE (Cretaceous).