40 Million-Year-Old Ant Found in Amber

An exceptionally well-preserved ant, dating back approximately 40 million years, has been discovered within a piece of amber. This specimen belongs to the extinct species Ctenobethylus goepperti and is considered the finest example of this ant found to date, offering scientists the opportunity to study it with unparalleled fidelity.

The remarkable amber fossil was part of the private collection of the esteemed German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who lived from 1749 to 1832. His collection, which included about 40 amber pieces primarily from the Baltic Sea region, is often housed at the Goethe National Museum in Weimar.

Modern imaging techniques allowed researchers to examine the ant's external features, including its fine hairs, and even its internal structures. These internal details have never before been documented in fossil ants from the Cenozoic era. The ant, identified as a worker, is thought to have been a dominant species in warm-temperate coniferous forests, potentially forming large colonies.

Lead author Brendon E. Boudinot of Friedrich Schiller University Jena highlighted the unique preservation quality of amber and how Goethe's culturally significant collection has yielded new scientific insights. The ant's robust mandibles suggest it may have been used for excavating or boring wood, similar to modern ants.