Cephalopone
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Cephalopone Temporal range: Middle Eocene |
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| C. grandis holotype | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Tribe: | Ponerini |
| Genus: |
†Cephalopone Dlussky & Wedmann, 2012 |
| Type species | |
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Cephalopone potens |
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| Species | |
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Cephalopone is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe. There are two described species placed into the genus, Cephalopone grandis and Cephalopone potens. Cephalopone is one several Lutetian Ponerinae genera.
When described, Cephalopone was known from three fossil insects which are compression-impression fossils preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the Cephalopone specimens were collected from layers of the Lutetian Messel pit World Heritage Site. The formation is composed of brown coals, oil shales, and bituminous shale, which preserved numerous insects, fish, birds, reptiles, and terrestrial mammals as a notable lagerstätten. The area is a preserved maar lake which initially formed approximately 47 million years ago as the result of volcanic explosions.
At the time of description, the holotype and paratype specimens were preserved in the Senckenberg Research Station Messel fossil collections. The fossils were described by Gennady Dlussky and Sonja Wedmann in a 2012 paper on the poneromorph ants of Messel, with the genus and both species named in it. The genus name is a combination of the ant genus Ponera and the Greek word cephale, meaning head. The specific epithet "grandis" is derived from the Latin meaning "strong," while the name "potens" is based on the Latin meaning "strong" or "powerful".
Cephalopone is one of five extinct genera from three subfamilies which have species described from Messel Formation fossils by Dlussky and Wedmann in 2012. Three of the other genera Cyrtopone, Messelepone, and Protopone are also placed in Ponerinae. The genus Casaleia is placed in Amblyoponinae, while the last genus Pseudectatomma is in Ectatomminae.
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