New Cretaceous fossils shed light on the early evolution of ants

Researchers in China describe a new bizarre ant, Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri, from 99-million-year-old Burmese amber that displays a prominent cephalic horn and oversized, scythelike mandibles that extend high above the head. These structures presumably functioned as a highly specialized trap for large-bodied prey. The horn results from an extreme modification of the clypeus hitherto unseen among living and extinct ants, which demonstrates the presence of an exaggerated trap-jaw morphogenesis early among stem-group ants.
Paleontology News — ScienceDaily