page_title: Gerontoformica
section_title: Phylogeny
hierarchical_section_title: Gerontoformica / Phylogeny
caption_attribution_description: English: Brownimecia clavata holotype, lateral view, Fossil in New jersey amber, specimen number AMNH-NJ667
context_page_description: Gerontoformica is an extinct genus of stem-group ants. The genus contains thirteen described species known from Late Cretaceous fossils found in Asia and Europe. The species were described between 2004 and 2016, with a number of the species formerly being placed into the junior synonym genus Sphecomyrmodes.
context_section_description: A phylogeny of stem group ants in relation to wasps and crown group ants was produced by Barden and Grimaldi in 2016.  The phylogeny placed Gerontoformica as a stem group genus of Formicidae, and did not mention Sphecomyrmicinae as a subfamily, where the majority of the Gerontoformica species had been placed prior to the synonymization of Sphecomyrmodes into Gerontoformica.
caption: Brownimecia clavata
exif: {"Image DocumentName": "amnh-nj667", "Image Software": "EXIFutils V3.1.4", "Image DateTime": "2015:02:13 01:35:08", "Image Artist": "David Grimaldi/AMNH - Vincent Perrichot", "Image Copyright": "California Academy of Sciences&#44; 2002-2012", "Image ExifOffset": "218", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221"}