New Ant Species Discovered In The Amazon Likely Represents Oldest Living Lineage Of Ants

A new species of blind, subterranean, predatory ant discovered in the Amazon rainforest by University of Texas at Austin evolutionary biologist Christian Rabeling is likely a descendant of the very first ants to evolve.

The new ant is named Martialis heureka, which translates roughly to “ant from Mars,” because the ant has a combination of characteristics never before recorded. It is adapted for dwelling in the soil, is two to three millimeters long, pale, and has no eyes and large mandibles, which Rabeling and colleagues suspect it uses to capture prey.

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Tagged as: Amazon Rainforest, Ants, Biology, Christian Rabeling, Evolution, Mars, Martialis heureka, Predators, Species, University of Texas at Austin

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