- Sphecomyrma freyi
Taxobox | name = "Sphecomyrma freyi"
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Insect a
ordo =Hymenoptera
familia =Formicidae
genus = "Sphecomyrma "
species = "S. Freyi"
binomial = "Sphecomyrma Freyi"
binomial_authority = Wilson ,1967"Sphecomyrma freyi" is an extinct species of
ant which inhabited the northern hemisphere of the supercontinentLaurasia approximately 80 mya in theCretaceous . cite book | coauthors =E. O. Wilson andBert Hölldobler | title =The Ants | publisher =Harvard University Press | year = 1990 | isbn = 0674040759 | pages = 23-25 ] It is one of the earliest known species of ant.In 1966 a specimen of "Sphecomyrma freyi" was found embedded in amber which had been exposed in the cliffs of
Cliffwood, New Jersey by Mr. Edmund Frey and his wife. In 1967E. O. Wilson , F. M. Carpenter and William L. Brown, Jr. published a paper describing and naming "Sphecomyrma freyi".cite journal |author=E. O. Wilson , F .M. Carpenter & William L. Brown|year= 1967|quotes=no|title= The First Mesosoic Ant, with the Description of a New Subfamily |journal= Psyche |volume= 74 |issue= 1 |pages= 1–19 |url= http://antbase.org/ants/publications/3508/3508.pdf |accessdate= 2008-04-06 ] They described an ant with a mosaic of features, a mix of characteristics from modern ants and aculeate wasps. It possessed ametapleural gland , a feature unique to ants, it was wingless and possessed a petiole which was ant-like in form. The mandible was short and wasp-like with only two teeth, thegaster constricted and the middle and hind legs had double tibial spurs, wasp-like features. The antennae were, in form, midway between the wasps and ants, having a short first segment but a long flexiblefuniculus .References
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