Pseudectatomma
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Pseudectatomma Temporal range: Lutetian |
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| P. eocenica holotype | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ectatomminae |
| Genus: |
†Pseudectatomma Dlussky & Wedmann, 2012 |
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Pseudectatomma is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ectatomminae described by from fossils found in Europe. The genus contains two species dating from the Eocene, Pseudectatomma eocenica and Pseudectatomma striatula.
When described, Pseudectatomma was known from four fossil insects which are compression-impression fossils preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the Pseudectatomma 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 Ectatomma and the Greek word pseudo, meaning false. The specific epithet "eocenica" is derived from the Eocene age of the fossil, while the name "striatula" is based on the Latin striatulus, meaning "marked by parallel lines".
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