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Showing papers on "Vespoidea published in 1987"



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The known Cretaceous formicoids are better interpreted from morphological evidence as forming a single subfamily, the Sphecomyrminae, and even a single genus, SpheComyrma, rather than multiple families and genera, and share some key traits with nonsocial aculeate wasps.
Abstract: The known Cretaceous formicoids are better interpreted from morphological evidence as forming a single subfamily, the Sphecomyrminae, and even a single genus, Sphecomyrma, rather than multiple families and genera. The females appear to have been differentiated as queen and worker castes belonging to the same colonial species instead of winged and wingless solitary females belonging to different species. The former conclusion is supported by the fact that the abdomens of workers of modern ant species and extinct Miocene ant species are smaller relative to the rest of the body than is the case for modern wingless solitary wasps. The wingless Cretaceous formicoids conform to the proportions of ant workers rather than to those of wasps (Figs. 1–2) and hence are reasonably interpreted to have lived in colonies. The Cretaceous formicoids are nevertheless anatomically primitive with reference to modern ants and share some key traits with nonsocial aculeate wasps. They were distributed widely over Laurasia and appear to have been much less abundant than modern ants.

56 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
31 Dec 1987-Psyche
TL;DR: The finding of a worker in Dominican amber that superficially resembles Leptomyrmex, sharing the same distinctively elongated body form, mesothoracic constriction, petiole, tapered neck, and bulging eyes located toward the rear of the head, but actually belongs to the Camponotus branneri group is of potential biogeographic importance.
Abstract: In 1980 Baroni Urbani described Leptomyrmex neotropicus from 9 rather poorly preserved specimens clustered in a single piece of Dominican amber and hence presumed to be of Miocene age (the date estimated in Baroni Urbani and Saunders, 1982). The finding is of potential biogeographic importance because Leptomyrmex, and hence the very distinctive dolichoderine tribe Leptomyrmecini, is today limited to the Old World, in particular eastern Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, the Aru Islands, and the Moluccas. A second genus, Leptomyrmula, had previously been described from the Miocene amber of Sicily (Emery, 1891, 1912). It thus appears that an entire tribe was once almost worldwide but has since retreated not only from Europe but the entire Western Hemisphere. Wilson (1985a) doubted Baroni Urbani’s tribal placement of the Dominican amber specimens. He found a worker in Dominican amber that superficially resembles Leptomyrmex, sharing the same distinctively elongated body form, mesothoracic constriction, petiole, tapered neck, and bulging eyes located toward the rear of the head, but actually belongs to the Camponotus branneri group. He suggested that Leptomyrmex neotropicus might be the same species. In the meantime, Schlee (1984) published a color photograph of another Dominican amber piece containing four presumed Leptomyrmex workers. This example is now preserved in the collection of

25 citations