The oldest predatory ant ever found appears: they also plundered Europe
about the episode
Predator ants, or migratory ants, are known for the devastation they leave on their way as a wandering colony, where they can eliminate up to 500,000 prey per day. You will find them mainly in the tropics, where they migrate in long chains between trees. But once, once they were here too, new research showed.
Hidden in a drawer and part of a 100-year-old museum’s collection, a researcher accidentally stumbled upon a block of amber with an ant in it. According to the poster, it was an ordinary ant, but when I put it under a microscope, it quickly saw: This is something special.
It turned out to be a 35-million-year-old predatory ant. Only the second predatory ant fossil has been found and the first from Europe. Once—discovery showed—predatory ants also walked across our backyard in warmer times. CT scans also showed that the ant species is related to eyeless species now found in Africa and South Asia. It must be a working ant.
This discovery helps better map the evolution of the ant. And after some further research, which will hopefully yield more interesting information, this predatory ant, with a new sticker, is back safely in its drawer.
Read more: The oldest military ant ever discovered reveals an iconic predator that once raided Europe.
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