| Andrena antoinei Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A. antoinei holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Andrenidae |
| Genus: | Andrena |
| Species: | †A. antoinei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Andrena antoinei Michez & De Meulemeester, 2014 | |
Andrena antoinei is an extinct species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae described from a single fossil found in a Late Oligocene lake in present-day France that existed in semi-arid conditions.
A. antoinei was described from a solitary fossil, which is a compression-impression fossil pair preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. [1] Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the A. antoinei specimen was collected from layers of Late Oligocene lacustrine rock belonging to the "calcaire de Campagne Calavon" sediments. The material is exposed along the northern slopes of the Luberon mountains near Céreste in southern France. The sediments are reported as from a shallow paleolake that was formerly considered about 30 million year old and Rupelian in age. Recent restudy of formation has suggested the older Late Oligocene age. The paleoflora preserved in the shales suggest the lake was surrounded by a mixed-mesophytic forest, though the vertebrate fauna found in the formation is more typical of a semi-arid environment. Specimens from the Apoidea families are rather rare and not diverse, with Apis specimens being the most common. [1]
At the time of study, the holotype counterpart and part were part of the paleoentomology collections housed by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle. It was first studied by an international team of researchers headed by Manuel Dehon of the University of Mons, Belgium, with the team's 2014 type description of the species was published in the natural sciences journal PLOS ONE . The specific epithet antoinei is a patronym coined in honor of Antoine Michez, for the support he provided melittology. [1]
A morphometric analysis of the wings indicates placement into the bee family Andrenidae, though specific features of the family, such as two sulci under the antenna and pointed glossa in the mouth parts are not visible in the fossil. The size and shape of the wing cells places the species into the subfamily Andreninae and excludes placement into any of the other subfamilies. Given a lack of any features that would indicate placement into a different genus, the species was placed into Andrena until further specimens are recovered. [1]
A. antoinei is one of four bee species described by Dehon and team in the PLOS ONE article, the others being Bombus cerdanyensis , Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri , and Protohabropoda pauli . [1]
The A. antoinei fossil is a male preserved with a dorsal view of the body, head tilted upward showing the face, the antennae are laid out sideways from the head and the wings are similarly splayed out from the body. The head is 2.56 mm (0.101 in), the mesosoma is 2.9 mm (0.11 in), and the preserved section of the metasoma is 4.47 mm (0.176 in) long though only the basal two segments are preserved. The head and body coloration is a mix of black, yellow and brown tones. [1] Brown tones are preserved on the wing veins, antennae and metasoma. Black tones are present on the mesosoma, tip segments of the metasoma, and most of the head. The head shows a distinct yellow tone on the clypeus. The antennae are not completely preserved for determining flagellomere numbers, the right having seven and the left having six. The 5.94 mm (0.234 in) long hyaline forewings have a one marginal cell and three cells below that called the submarginal cells. The marginal cell has a distinct tapering in width from the base to the apical end, which is distinctly rounded. The second and third submarginal cells together are slightly shorter than the first submarginal cell, which is the longest of the three cells. The pterostigma is present, with a darkened tone, and it more than three times longer than its maximum width. [1]
The Andrenidae are a large, nearly cosmopolitan family of solitary, ground-nesting bees. Most of the family's diversity is located in temperate or arid areas. It includes some enormous genera. One of the subfamilies, Oxaeinae, is so different in appearance that they were typically accorded family status, but careful phylogenetic analysis reveals them to be an offshoot within the Andrenidae, very close to the Andreninae.
Andrena is a genus of bees in the family Andrenidae. With over 1,500 species, it is one of the largest genera of animals. It is a strongly monophyletic group that is difficult to split into more manageable divisions; currently, Andrena is organized into 104 subgenera. It is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. Bees in this genus are commonly known as mining bees due to their ground-nesting lifestyle.
Myanmymar is an extinct genus of fairyfly preserved in Burmese amber from Myanmar. It has only one species, Myanmymar aresconoides. It is dated to the earliest part of the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, around 99 million years old. As of 2011, it is the oldest known fossil mymarid.
Uintascorpio is an extinct genus of scorpion in the family Buthidae and containing the single species Uintascorpio halandrasorum. The species is known only from the Middle Eocene Parachute Member, part of the Green River Formation, in the Piceance Creek Basin, Garfield County, northwestern Colorado, USA.
Megaphragma is a genus of wasp in the family Trichogrammatidae. It contains some of the smallest known insects, Megaphragma caribea and Megaphragma mymaripenne, which are roughly the same size as some unicellular protozoans.
Emplastus is an extinct morphogenus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, known from fossils found in Asia and Europe. The genus contains twelve species described from sites in England, Eastern Europe and Far Eastern Russia.
Casaleia is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Amblyoponinae described by Pagliano & Scaramozzino in 1990 from fossils found in Europe. The genus contains four species dating from the Eocene to Miocene, Casaleia eocenica, Casaleia inversa, Casaleia longiventris, Casaleia orientalis.
Yantaromyrmex is an extinct genus of ants first described in 2013. Members of this genus are in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae, known from Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene fossils found in Europe. The genus currently contains five described species, Y. constrictus, Y. geinitzi, Y. intermedius, Y. mayrianum and Y. samlandicus. The first specimens were collected in 1868 and studied by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr, who originally placed the fossils in other ant genera until the fossils were reviewed and subsequently placed into their own genus. These ants are small, measuring from 4 to 6 mm in length and can be characterized by their trapezoidal shaped head-capsules and oval compound eyes that are located slightly to the rear of the capsules midpoint, with no known ocelli present.
Bombus cerdanyensis is an extinct species of bumble bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe.
Protopone is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe and Asia. There are seven described species placed into the genus, Protopone? dubia, Protopone germanica, Protopone magna, Protopone oculata, Protopone primigena, Protopone sepulta, and Protopone vetula. Protopone is one several Lutetian Ponerinae genera.
Tityus apozonalli is an extinct species of scorpion in the family Buthidae known from a fossil found in North America. The species is one of two scorpions described from Mexican amber and one of seven species from Central American amber deposits.
Cyrtopone is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe. There are four described species placed into the genus, Cyrtopone curiosa, Cyrtopone elongata, Cyrtopone microcephala, and Cyrtopone striata. Cyrtopone is one several Lutetian Ponerinae genera.
Euglossopteryx is an extinct genus of bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in North America. There is one described species in the genus, Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri.
Protohabropoda is an extinct genus of bees in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe. The genus currently contains a single described species Protohabropoda pauli.
Gyaclavator is an extinct genus of lace bug in the family Tingidae known from a fossil found in North America. The genus contains a single species, Gyaclavator kohlsi.
Gerontoformica is an extinct genus of stem-group ants. The genus contains thirteen described species known from Late Cretaceous fossils found in Asia and Europe. The species were described between 2004 and 2016, with a number of the species formerly being placed into the junior synonym genus Sphecomyrmodes.
Bradoponera is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Proceratiinae, and is one of four genera of the subfamily. The genus contains four described species Bradoponera electrina, Bradoponera meieri, Bradoponera similis, and Bradoponera wunderlichi. The species are known from several Middle Eocene amber fossils which were found in Europe.
Bombus trophonius is an extinct species of bumble bee known from a Miocene fossil found in Europe. It belongs to the Bombus subgenus Cullumanobombus and is considered most similar to the living species Bombus rufocinctus of North America.
Andrena lagopus is a species of mining bees belonging to the family of Andrenidae.
Andrena ghisbaini, Ghisbain's mining bee, is a species of solitary bee from the family Andrenidae. It was described in 2023 based on specimens collected in southern Spain.
Media related to Andrena antoinei at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Andrena antoinei at Wikispecies