page_title: Gerontoformica
section_title: G. cretacica
hierarchical_section_title: Gerontoformica / Descriptions / G. cretacica
caption_attribution_description: English: Closeup frontal view of the Gerontoformica cretacica holotype specimen head, MNHNA30088. Charentese amber, France, Albian-Cenomanian (100 million years old)
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: Described from a single worker fossil in Chartense amber, the species has an estimated body length of 5.4 mm (0.21 in), though shrinking of the ant after entombment made accurate measurements difficult.  The head has small indistinct compound eyes and no visible ocelli.  The antennae are composed of 12 segments and the type description indicated the scape was notably longer than other Cretaceous genera.   However, in reexamination the scape was determined to be shorter than thought, and distortion of the fossil had caused the error with the type description.  The mandibles have the typical shape seen in the genus, overlapping slightly when closed, and with apical and subapical teeth.  The clypeus sports approximately 32 denticles, though the type description originally placed the denticles on the labrum. While the type description mentioned the lack of a sting, the 2016 review of the fossil suggested the sting may have been missing prior to entombment.  The species name was derived from "Cretaceous", the age of the fossil.
caption: G. cretacica head, close up
exif: {"Image DocumentName": "mnhna30088", "Image Software": "EXIFutils V2.7.4", "Image DateTime": "2010:11:03 15:27:43", "Image Artist": "Vincent Perrichot", "Image Copyright": "California Academy of Sciences&#44; 2000-2010", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220"}