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Issue: Vol. 5821 No. 1: 28 May 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-05-28
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5821.1.9
Page range: 131-141
Abstract views: 31
PDF downloaded: 0

Two new fossil species of the genus Pheidole (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Oligo-Miocene Mexican amber

Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular; Escuela de Estudios Superiores del Jicarero; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos; C.P. 62909; Jojutla; Morelos; Mexico.
Hymenoptera ants Chiapas amber Lagerstätte Oligo-Miocene

Abstract

The hyperdiverse genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839 is poorly represented in the fossil record. Most species described to date originate from the Dominican and Mexican amber Lagerstätten. In this study, two new species from Oligo-Miocene Mexican amber are described and illustrated. Pheidole ambrata sp. nov. is described based on a syninclusion of one major worker and one minor putative worker, while Pheidole capitomagna sp. nov. is described from a single major worker. This work increases the diversity of the genus in Mexican amber to five species, and the global fossil record to ten. The discovery of these new species provides evidence of the morphological stabilization of the genus in the Neotropics.

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How to Cite

Hernández, F.V. (2026) Two new fossil species of the genus Pheidole (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Oligo-Miocene Mexican amber. Zootaxa, 5821 (1), 131–141. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5821.1.9