Primitive ants (Hymenoptera: Sphecomyrminae) in the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of North Carolina (USA)

A small amber piece containing one nearly complete and four partial winged male fossil ants was collected from a lignite layer at a site along the Neuse River near Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. Based on the anatomical details, these ants belong to the extinct subfamily Sphecomyrminae. While a formal species description and naming is not the purpose of this paper, similarities are noted to the ant genera Sphecomyrma and Baikurus, and taxonomic...