[Rockhounds] "It's like finding a diamond": 16-million-year-old animal found encased in amber on Caribbean island

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Scientists who found an ancient insect enveloped in 16-million-year-old
amber in the Dominican Republic say it is the first-ever fossil of a dirt
ant (a group of ants) from the Caribbean.

The long-extinct species, named *Basiceros enana*, measures just over 5
millimetres in length, making it considerably smaller than its closest
living ant
<https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/ants-guide>
relatives,
which can grow up to 9 millimetres. Yet despite its diminutive size, the
specimen – perfectly preserved in the fossilised tree resin
<https://www.discoverwildlife.com/plant-facts/trees/what-is-amber-and-how-does-it-preserve-animals-and-plants-for-so-long>
–
holds a wealth of intriguing information.

The researchers, who published their findings in *Proceedings of the Royal
Society B <https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.2171>*,
say the discovery offers direct evidence that the enigmatic dirt ant group
once inhabited the Caribbean islands before going locally extinct 23 to 5.3
million years ago.

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/basiceros-enana-amber-caribbean