Solenopsis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) thief ants in Dominican amber and putative subfossil resin

Overview & Synopsis

Solenopsis is a diverse genus of myrmicine ants with a global distribution. Several extinct species have been described but these occurrences are limited to the Palaearctic as imprint fossils. Wilson (1985, 1988) mentioned specimens of Solenopsis preserved in Dominican amber (Middle Miocene, ca. 16 Ma), though these have not been formally described. Through ethanol exposure and Raman spectroscopy, we assessed the provenance of several putative amber specimens in museum collections. We identified multiple instances of labeled amber specimens that are instead most likely subfossil copal or recent resin -these include specimens in a historical collection. Based on material with provenance and properties consistent with fossil resin, or, amber, we report five new fossil species of minor workers attributed to the genus Solenopsis: S. lamellata sp.