Кавказский энтомологический бюллетень (Aug 2015)

The Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Bol’shaya Svetlovodnaya (Late Eocene of Sikhote-Alin, Russian Far East)

  • G.M. Dlussky,
  • A.P. Rasnitsyn,
  • K.S. Perfilieva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.23885/1814-3326-2015-11-1-131-152
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 131 – 152

Abstract

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The ant fossils of the Bol’shaya Svetlovodnaya (Late Eocene of Sikhote-Alin, Russian Far East) are studied. A total of 80 specimens are identified as Formicidae. The location is quite diverse in composition of ant: described 15 genera and 9 subfamilies. A generic level comparison reveals Svetlovodnaya ants as more similar to European rather than North American ant fauna. Unusually high proportion Myrmicinae (21.4%) for the known deposits of Europe, where these ants become abundant only in the Miocene. A distinctive feature of the Svetlovodnaya ant assemblage under comparison with the European and North American ones is the lack of highly dominanting species. Presences of strictly tropical and temperate taxa support the equable climate concept as applicable to the Late Eocene climate of the Sikhote-Alin area. New genera and species are described from the Bol’shaya Svetlovodnaya: Aneuretinae – Paraneuretus dubovikoffi sp. n., Dolichoderinae – Dolichoderus pinguis sp. n., Emplastus macrops sp. n., Emplastus elongates sp. n., Emplastus dubius sp. n., Liometopum incognitum sp. n., Formicinae – Formica biamoensis sp. n., Formica paleosibirica sp. n. Gesomyrmex magnus sp. n., Gesomyrmex macrops sp. n., Gesomyrmex incertus sp. n., Myrmeciinae – Ypresiomyrma orientalis sp. n., Amblyoponinae – Casaleia orientalis sp. n., Ponerinae – Pachycondyla oligocenica sp. n., Pachycondyla aberrans sp. n.,Proceratiinae – Proceratium petrosumsp. n., Myrmicinae – Agastomyrma laticeps sp. n., Biamomyrma zherikhini sp. n., Biamomyrma lata sp. n., Biamomyrma rugosa sp. n., Myrmecites sibiricus sp. n., Myrmecites dubius sp. n., Myrmecites major sp. n. , also at least two species of Lasius and one species of Cerapachyinae

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