Ctenobethylus oblongiceps

Ctenobethylus oblongiceps Temporal range: Middle to Late Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Baltic amber
C. oblongiceps AntWeb specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Genus:	† Ctenobethylus
Species:	†C. oblongiceps
Binomial name
†Ctenobethylus oblongiceps (Wheeler, 1915)

Ctenobethylus oblongiceps is an extinct dolichoderine ant of the genus Ctenobethylus found in Eocene Baltic amber. ^[1]

Taxonomy

William Morton Wheeler first described the species in 1915, commenting that the ant did not have the appearance of typical Iridomyrmex but found nowhere else to assign it, so he left the species incertae sedis within the genus. ^[2] Because of its appearance, it was obvious the ant did not belong to the Iridomyrmex, and so it was transferred to a new genus Eldermyrmex in 2011. ^[3] However, the species was again transferred in 2026 as Eldermyrmex was synonymized with Ctenobethylus, connecting C. oblongiceps with a tribal affiliation to the Tapinomini. ^{[4] [5]}

References

1. Dlussky, G.M. 1997. Genera of ants from Baltic Amber. Paleontological Journal, 31(6), pp. 616–627.
2. Wheeler, William Morton (1915). The ants of the Baltic amber. Vol. 55. Leipzig und Berlin: Teubner. pp. 1–142. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.14207. OCLC   30805083.
3. Shattuck, Brian E. Heterick & Steve (2011). Revision of the ant genus Iridomyrmex (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) (PDF). Auckland, N.Z.: Magnolia Press. ISBN   978-1-86977-676-3 . Retrieved 2 January 2015.
4. Boudinot, B. E.; Bock, B. L.; Tröger, D.; Weingardt, M.; Hammel, J. U.; Grabe, V.; Solórzano‑Kraemer, M. M.; Jandausch, K. J.; Oberski, J. T.; Schmuck, T. (22 January 2026). "Discovery of Goethe's amber ant: its phylogenetic and evolutionary implications". Scientific Reports. 16 2880. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-36004-4 .
5. Bolton, Barry. "Ctenobethylus oblongiceps (Wheeler, 1915) valid". AntCat. antcat.org. Retrieved 11 February 2026.