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Amber Fossil Reveals Hunting Prowess of Ancient 'Hell Ant'

posted by Fnord666 on Monday August 10 2020, @01:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the who-is-Amber-Fossil? dept.

"MrPlow" writes:

Submitted via IRC for RandomFactor

An ancient amber fossil has offered scientists new insights into the deadly hunting prowess of the "hell ant" species Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri.

The 99-million-year-old amber, unearthed in Myanmar, trapped a member of the Haidomyrmecine subfamily -- the group known as hell ants -- just as the predator snatched a cockroach relative with its scythe-like mandibles.

Animal behavior rarely becomes fossilized, and fossilized hunting behavior is especially elusive. The hell ant fossil, described Thursday in the journal Current Biology, is a one-of-a-kind find.

Journal Reference:
Phillip Barden. Specialized Predation Drives Aberrant Morphological Integration and Diversity in the Earliest Ants, Current Biology (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.106)

Source: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2020/08/06/Amber-fossil-reveals-hunting-prowess-of-ancient-hell-ant/3761596726657/

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @03:14PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @03:14PM (#1034345)

    Christian-based names are so last Millennium. God particle, Hell ant, Satan's demon seed.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by PaperNoodle on Monday August 10 2020, @03:21PM

    by PaperNoodle (10908) on Monday August 10 2020, @03:21PM (#1034351)

    I agree I vote to change the names to be: Mass Effect Particle. Edward Scissor Mouth. and ... A weekend at the Epstiens.

    --
    B3

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by cmdrklarg on Monday August 10 2020, @07:56PM

    by cmdrklarg (5048) Subscriber Badge on Monday August 10 2020, @07:56PM (#1034483)

    Actually, the guy that coined "god particle" wanted to call it the "goddamn particle".

    --
    The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.