ANTS OF THE DOMINICAN AMBER 
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). 
2. THE FIRST FOSSIL ARMY ANTS 
By Edward O. Wilson 
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, U.S.A. 
Despite the local abundance of the contemporary army ants, 
comprising about 105 species in the Old World Dorylinae and 147 
species in the New World Ecitoninae (Gotwald, 1979), no fossil 
remains have hitherto been recovered. In the course of studying a 
large collection of Dominican amber ants newly assembled in the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology (see also Wilson, 1985), I encoun- 
tered two well-preserved workers of an apparently extinct species 
belonging to the New World genus Neivamvrmex. Their status as 
the first ecitonine fossils, extending the history of the subfamily 
back at least as far as the early Miocene, deserves special notice. The 
discovery also has potential biogeographic significance, because no 
living species of Neivamvrmex or any other ecitonine is known from 
the Greater Antilles. 
Neivamyrmex ectopus Wilson, new species 
(Figs. 1, 2) 
Diagnosis (based principally on the holotype). A medium-sized 
species (Head Width 0.4-0. 6 mm) characterized uniquely by the 
following combination of traits: sides of head parallel or nearly so 
for most of their length; antennal scapes relatively slender (thicker 
in the paratype), approaching the occipital angles to within a dis- 
tance a little less than the maximum scape width; occipital border 
moderately concave, the lateral angles well defined; dorsal and pos- 
terior (declivitous) borders of propodeum forming a small, strongly 
convex but not angulate juncture; petiolar node symmetric, with a 
well-defined anterior peduncle; the subpetiolar process small, 
limited to the anterior petiolar border, and projecting forward; body 
mostly covered with comparatively sparse, semierect pilosity. Head, 
petiolar node, legs, scapes, and gaster smooth to weakly shagreened 
and feebly shining. Color dark reddish brown, although this may be 
an artifact of preservation. 
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