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'Giant' ant fossil raises questions about ancient Arctic migrations

April 04, 2023

Allenby Formation ant, Titanomyrma sp. UBC-BBM-PAL-2022-00001. A, photograph; B, drawing; and C, partially preserved spiracle. A, B to scale = 1 cm; C to scale =1mm. Photo: Bruce Archibald.

Beverley Burlingame (right) of Princeton BC, who found the ant fossil, and Kathy Simpkins of the Princeton Museum who helped the process. Photo: Bruce Archibald.

Biological Sciences palaeontologists Bruce Archibald and Rolf Mathewes say their research into the latest fossil find near Princeton, B.C. is raising questions about the dispersal of plants and animals across the Northern Hemisphere some 50 million years ago, including whether brief intervals of global warming were at play. Read the SFU News Story.

The story has attracted lots of press including:
Global News:https://globalnews.ca/news/9541492/giant-ant-fossil/

CBC As It Happens, March 10, at the 40-minute mark:https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-2-as-it-happens

UK:https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/huge-remains-bird-sized-carnivorous-29410906

USA:https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/42723/20230308/giant-carnivorous-ants-swarmed-north-america-47-million-years-ago.htm

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Department of Biological Sciences

'Giant' ant fossil raises questions about ancient Arctic migrations

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