An international team of scientists He discovered a previously unknown extinct species of ant in an amber pile in Africa. Using PETRA III X-rays at the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY) in Hamburg, researchers from various European universities examined the fossil remains of 13 specimens of these insects in amber and found that they did not belong to any previously known species. . . .
The name given to the new species and genus Here’s the desiopone gene. and sp. November In this way, the scientists honor two research institutions, DESY and Hereon, who made significant contributions to this finding with the help of modern imaging techniques. In fact, identification of the new species and genus was only possible by combining extensive phenotype data from scans and recent findings from genome analysis of living ants. The team reported their discovery in the research diary. vermin.
Early anatomical comparisons led scientists to hypothesize that animals were one species. aneurysm, a nearly extinct subfamily of ants hitherto known only from fossils and a single species still living in Sri Lanka. But thanks to them, they controlled this identity. High resolution images obtained by microcomputer synchrotron tomography.
“The intricate waistline and large but primitive mandibles, mouthparts, look more alike. ponerinaea dominant group of predatory ants,” explains Brendon Boudinot. aneurysm“, Add.
The results of this research are also Help bring male ants into the center of evolutionary research. “They have long been overlooked in research because they have a very different body shape compared to worker ants, which are all females. This is because males are so often overlooked because they can’t be classified properly,” he says. This is the ant expert.
“Our results not only update the literature on male ant identification, but also show that we can learn more about the evolutionary patterns of female ants by understanding male-specific traits, such as sex-specific jaw shape,” Boudinot said. he adds.
This is because in the current study, the researchers found a basic pattern seen in all ants, namely that male and female jaws follow the same developmental pattern in most species.
Between 16 and 23 million years
Because the amber itself is as unique as the organisms it contains, dating the find posed some challenges for scientists. “The piece with these ants comes from the only amber deposit in Africa that presents fossil organisms.. In total, there are only a few fossil insects from this continent. Although amber has long been used as a jewel by locals, its scientific significance has only become clear to researchers in the last 10 years,” explains Vincent Perrichot of the University of Rennes.
“Then, the example now offers a unique insight into an ancient forest ecosystem in AfricaIt is dated to the Early Miocene and is between 16 and 23 million years old, Perrichot says. Its complex dating was made possible indirectly by determining the age of fossil palynomorphs (spores and pollen) locked in amber.
Modern ways to look into the distant past
Research results like this are only possible with the use of the latest technology. Precise data and observations on the morphology of animals are particularly important as the genetic material of fossils cannot be analyzed. Comprehensive data can be obtained using high-resolution imaging techniques, such as micro-computed tomography (CT), which uses X-rays to look at all its layers.
“Since the amber-clad ants to be studied are very small and show only very weak contrast on classical CT, We perform the CT at our measuring station specialized in this type of microtomographyJörg Hammel of Helmholtz-Zentrum explains: “This provided the researchers with a series of images that basically showed the sample under study in slices.”
On the whole, produced detailed three-dimensional images of the internal structure of the samplesthat researchers can use to accurately reconstruct anatomy. It was the only way to pinpoint the details that eventually led to the identification of the new species and genus.
Reference work: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/9/796
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