Formiciinae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ant Species

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Superorder:	Endopterygota
Order:	Hymenoptera
Suborder:	Apocrita
Superfamily:	Vespoidea
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formiciinae(extinct)
Genus:	Formicium

Species

Formicium berryi

Carpenter, 1929

Formicium brodiei

Westwood, 1854

Formicium giganteum

Lutz, 1986

Formicium mirabile

Cockerell, 1920

Formicium simillimum

Lutz, 1986

The Formiciinae is a very small fossil subfamily of ant. The type and only genus is Formicium. The genus Formicium includes at this moment 5 species and is known only from queens and males. Workers were never found. The wingspan of the sexuals is the biggest among ants, both extant and extinct types combined, that have ever been found. The queens have a maximum wingspan of 13 to 15 cm. They were real giants (one of the species is called F. giganteum). Two of the species are known from queens and males, both from an Eocene deposit in Messel, Germany. The others are only known from isolated wings (Britain and USA). It is suspected that more species can be found in Messel and nearby deposits.