1985] 
Wilson — Dominican amber ants. 3 
35 
A 
Fig. 12. Tapinoma trochis holotype worker: A, lateral view; B, dorsal view. 
The living species of Leptomyrmex are confined to Australia and 
Melanesia. All of the other ants thus far discovered in the Domini- 
can amber belong to modern Neotropical genera and, in many 
cases, living species groups. Hence, as Baroni Urbani (1980) himself 
noted in his original description, the occurrence of Leptomyrmex in 
the West Indian ant fauna during Dominican amber times would 
constitute a considerable biogeographic anomaly. The situation is 
confused by the poor condition and uncertain anatomy of the Lep- 
tomyrmex neotropicus types, all 8 of whiqh are in the same piece of 
amber. 
