Ants of the extinct genus Cataglyphoides Dlussky, 2008 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) from the late Eocene European ambers

Abstract

A new species from the fossil ant genus Cataglyphoides Dlussky, 2008, C. dlusskyi sp.n., is described from the Rovno amber (Ukraine). A new record of C. constrictus (Mayr, 1868) from the Baltic amber (age of both ambers is late Eocene, Priabonian, 33.9-37.2 Ma) and additional diagnostic features of this species are provided. C. dlusskyi resembles C. constrictus but well differs from the latter mainly by the absence of standing hairs on the body, absence of the longitudinal carina on the clypeus, by position of the eyes and the much shorter genae and by character of the standing pilosity on the appendages (C. dlusskyi has very fine and short whitish subdecumbent to suberect hairs, but C. constrictus has coarse brownish bristles). C. dlusskyi differs from C.

Ant genus Strongylognathus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Bulgaria: a preliminary review

“… Strongylognathus karawajewi has been known as a social parasite of T. caespitum (s. l.), T. sulcinode Santschi, 1927, T. inerme Mayr, 1877, T. ferox Ruzsky, 1903 and T. feroxoide Dlussky & Zabelin, 1985 ( Pisarski 1966 , Radchenko 1991 , Radchenko 2016 ) and we found it in the nests of T. hungaricum and T. chefketi .…”

“…Thus (excluding S. alboini and S. huberi dalmaticus with the type localities in Slovenia and Croatia), only one more species, the common S. testaceus , was recorded from Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia ( Petrov and Collingwood 1992 , Bracko 2006 , Bracko 2007 , Vesnic 2013 ); similarly, four Strongylognathus species were previously recorded for Greece ( Buschinger 1989 Legakis 2011 , Borowiec and Salata 2012 , Borowiec and Salata 2013 ), but this number was recently reduced to three ( Salata and Borowiec 2018 ). Considering that about ten species are known now in Italy, six in Bulgaria, five in Ukraine ( Radchenko 2016 ) and eight in Turkey ( Kiran et al 2014 , Kiran and Karaman 2020 ), the number of Balkan Strongylognathus species is definitely underestimated and further research may close the “blind spot” between Italy and Bulgaria.…”

“… Strongylognathus testaceus appears to be the most common species of this genus, it widely spreading in Central and Southern Europe, southern part of east Europe, the Caucasus, Anatolia, south of west Siberia and northern Kazakhstan ( Radchenko 1985 , Radchenko 1991 , Radchenko 2016 , Schulz and Sanetra 2002 ). In Bulgaria, it has been found in the southern part of the country: in the southern Black Sea coast (Ahtopol), Strandzha Mt.…”

“…The head dorsum in workers of S. karawajewi is usually completely smooth and shiny, fine striation may be present only on its sides, while at least frons and genae, but often whole head dorsum, is with well developed longitudinal rugosity in S. testaceus . The sculpture on the sides of mesosoma in males of S. karawajewi is strongly reduced, but it is at least partly coarsely rugulose and shagreened in S. testaceus ( Radchenko 1991 , Radchenko 2016 ).…”

First records of aneuretine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aneuretinae) in late Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine)

“…Rovno amber, named after the city of Rivne (formerly Rovno), is found in the Rivne Oblast, Ukraine and nearby areas of Ukraine and Belarus. To date, 75 ant species from 37 genera have been recorded from Rovno amber (Dlussky and Rasnitsyn 2009;Perkovsky 2016;Radchenko and Dlussky 2016, 2018a, 2018b, 2019Perkovsky 2018, 2020;Radchenko and Khomych 2020;Radchenko 2020Radchenko , 2021Radchenko and Proshchalykin 2021).…”