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Fossil evidence for the early ant evolution

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Abstract

Ants are one of the most studied insects in the world; and the literature devoted to their origin and evolution, systematics, ecology, or interactions with plants, fungi and other organisms is prolific. However, no consensus yet exists on the age estimate of the first Formicidae or on the origin of their eusociality. We review the fossil and biogeographical record of all known Cretaceous ants. We discuss the possible origin of the Formicidae with emphasis on the most primitive subfamily Sphecomyrminae according to its distribution and the Early Cretaceous palaeogeography. And we review the evidence of true castes and eusociality of the early ants regarding their morphological features and their manner of preservation in amber. The mid-Cretaceous amber forest from south-western France where some of the oldest known ants lived, corresponded to a moist tropical forest close to the shore with a dominance of gymnosperm trees but where angiosperms (flowering plants) were already diversified. This palaeoenvironmental reconstruction supports an initial radiation of ants in forest ground litter coincident with the rise of angiosperms, as recently proposed as an ecological explanation for their origin and successful evolution.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Thierry Guyot and Eric Depré who gave some of the fossil ants discussed in this paper; Alain Canard (Univ. Rennes 1) for the preliminary comments on the zodariid fossil spiders; Carl Findley for checking the English; and the anonymous reviewers for the useful comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the CNRS programme ECLIPSE II on “Cretaceous climates and ecosystems” and by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for VP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Vincent Perrichot

  2. Laboratório de Zoologia e Parasitologia Animal, DEBI, Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia, Campus Juvino Oliveira, BR 415, Km 03, s/n°, 45700-000, Itapetinga, Bahia, Brazil

    Sébastien Lacau

  3. Géosciences Rennes, UMR CNRS 6118, Université Rennes 1, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes cedex, France

    Didier Néraudeau

  4. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Entomologie, UMR CNRS 5202, 45 Rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France

    André Nel

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  1. Vincent Perrichot
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Correspondence to Vincent Perrichot.

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Perrichot, V., Lacau, S., Néraudeau, D. et al. Fossil evidence for the early ant evolution. Naturwissenschaften 95, 85–90 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-007-0301-8

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