New ancient ant species found in Amazon

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say they've discovered a new ant species living in the Amazon that is likely the world's oldest living lineage of ants.

The blind, subterranean, predatory ants were discovered by University of Texas at Austin evolutionary biologist Christian Rabeling and are probably descendants of the very first ants to evolve.

The researchers said they named the ant is Martialis heureka, which translates roughly to "ant from Mars" because the ant has a combination of characteristics never before recorded. It is adapted for dwelling in the soil, is 2- to 3-millimeters-long, pale, has no eyes but does have large mandibles that Rabeling and colleagues suspect it uses to capture prey.

Rabeling said his discovery marks the first time a new subfamily of ants with living species has been discovered since 1923. He said the discovery will help biologists better understand the biodiversity and evolution of ants, which are abundant and ecologically important insects.

The research that included graduate student Jeremy Brown, Manfred Verhaagh of the Staatliches Museum in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Brazilian ecologist Marcos Garcia appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.