100-mllion-year-old amber preserves oldest animal societies
Friday, February 12, 2016 - 21:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Fighting ants, giant solider termites, and foraging worker ants recently discovered in 100-million-year-old amber provide direct evidence for advanced social behavior in ancient ants and termites -- two groups that are immensely successful because of their ability to organize in hierarchies. The new work proves that advanced sociability in ants and termites was present tens of millions of years earlier than indicated by the previous fossil record.