Posted on 04/25/2025 7:03:00 PM PDT by Red Badger
Ants are among the most familiar insects on Earth today, but their origins remain cloaked in deep evolutionary history. Until now, the oldest known ant specimens came from amber deposits in France and Myanmar, dating to the Cretaceous period around 100 million years ago.
But a new discovery—published recently in the journal Current Biology—pushes that timeline back even further.
“Our team has discovered a new fossil ant species representing the earliest undisputable geological record of ants,” said lead author Anderson Lepeco in a recent statement. “What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that it belongs to the extinct ‘hell ant,’ known for their bizarre predatory adaptations.”
Discovering the Most Ancient Ant Fossil
Scientists from the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil have uncovered a fossilized ant preserved in limestone from northeastern Brazil’s Crato Formation. The ant is a newly identified species of hell ant—an extinct and highly specialized subfamily known for its terrifying scythe-like jaws and unique predatory adaptations.
At 113 million years old, this fossil not only rewrites the ant family tree—it reshapes what experts thought they knew about how quickly ants evolved specialized features and spread across ancient landscapes.
From Museum Shelves to Micro-CT Scans
The fossil was found not in the field, but during a careful review of one of the world’s largest insect fossil collections, stored at the Museu de Zoologia. The Crato Formation, where the specimen originates, is known for its exceptional fossil preservation, making it a treasure trove for paleontologists.
“When I encountered this extraordinary specimen, we immediately recognized its significance—not only as a new species but as potentially the definitive evidence of ants in the Crato Formation,” Lepeco said. “This finding highlights the importance of thorough examination of existing collections—private or in museums—and brings a spotlight to Brazilian paleontology and the underexplored fossil insect fauna of the country.”
To study the ant in detail, the team turned to micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). This cutting-edge X-ray imaging technique allows scientists to view internal and external features in three dimensions without damaging the fossil. These scans revealed astonishing anatomical detail, along with a few evolutionary surprises.
“Even though there have been hell ants described from amber, this was the first time we could visualize this in a rock fossil,” Lepeco explained.
A reconstruction of the microCT scan of the hell ant. PC: Odair M. Meira
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Rethinking Insect Evolution and Ancient Ecosystems
The discovery of this insect in South America adds new weight to the theory that ants were already widely distributed and ecologically diverse during the Cretaceous period. More strikingly, the fossil shows that even at this early stage, some ants had already developed highly specialized anatomy for hunting.
“While we expected to find hell ant features, we were shocked by the characteristics of its feeding apparatus,” said Lepeco. “Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations.”
Unlike modern ants, which use side-moving jaws, this hell ant had vertically moving mandibles that extended forward and a facial projection used to pin or impale prey—an evolutionary design unlike anything seen in living species.
The research also offers a broader lesson in paleontology: fossils hidden in museum drawers may still be able to change our understanding of life on Earth.
As Lepeco puts it, “This finding underscores how much we still have to learn—not just from new fieldwork, but from the careful reexamination of fossils already in our hands.”
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry is a freelance science journalist and staff writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with her on BlueSky or contact her via email at kenna@thedebrief.org
A #12 shoe works well................
That’s what you hear when you play “Eleanor Rigby” backwards. ;^)
Hubris, Nemesis Moment: "We're giant ants, and we can lift 50 times our own weight."
Scariest show ever
Let’s not forget lawyer mosquitoes!
The only good bug is a dead bug!
All that writing and they did not say how big the ant was and why it is called the Hell ant.
‘Hell Ants’ are called that because they are unusually large, 10-12mm, and they have huge mandibles, long and curved like two swords. There are some species still on Earth today..................
113 million years ago they should be this size...
Them! https://gonewiththetwins.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/them_tall.jpg
https://prod-images.tcm.com/Master-Profile-Images/them1954.16456.jpg
I love ants... When they’re dead.
suggesting they may have originated in deep, dark Africa?
They made a movie about “Them” ants
Sooo maybe just 113 years old?
That .38 snubnose would be soooooo effective against an ant the size of a bus.
Bill Gates trying to resurrect it now.
✅✅
Yup. Freaked me out as a kid. I hated ants for a long time after that.
“Get the antennae he’s helpless without them!” “Get the other antenna!”
It also helped that his partner had a Tommygun and came quickly...
October 9.
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