Oecophyllini

Archibald, S. Bruce, Mathewes, Rolf W. & Perfilieva, Ksenia S., 2024, Fossil weaver ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Oecophyllini) of the early Eocene Okanagan Highlands of far-western North America, The Canadian Entomologist (e 2) 156, pp. 1-16 : 11

Oecophyllini sp. A

Fig. 7

Material. BBM-PAL-P000044A, B (collection number SBA-109A, B; Fig. 7 ): a worker, well preserved and rather complete, legs somewhat disarticulated. Collected by SBA at McAbee Hoodoo face beds 21 June 2000. Housed in the collection of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.

Description. Worker BBM-PAL-P000044A, B: head rounded, HL 2.0, HW 2.2, MdL 1.0. Legs long. AL 4.0, AH 1.5. Waist of one segment; petiole elongate, node low, without scale, PtL 1.1, PtW 0.8. Gaster: incomplete, without constriction between first two segments.

Range and age. McAbee, British Columbia, Canada; mid-Ypresian.

Remarks. This ant agrees with Oecophylla workers, including their characteristic elongate, low node; however, we cannot rule out that this is an Eoecophylla worker, which are unknown; therefore, we treat it as Oecophyllini sp. A. Although the workers of arboreal species are common in amber, all worker ants are rare in lacustrine shales due to taphonomic barriers to the transport of wingless insects to the depositional environment.

Figures

Figure 7. Oecophyllini sp. A,BBM-PAL-P000044,worker of unnamed species of Oecophyllini from McAbee,British Columbia, Canada: A, photograph and B, drawing. Both to scale, 5 mm.