Meet the 113-Million-Year-Old Ant That Lived With Dinosaurs!

In a remarkable discovery, scientists have found the oldest ant fossil ever discovered. And in case you wonder how old it is? Let’s reveal that this fossil is 113 million years old! That’s from the time when dinosaurs still lived. It was found in Brazil, in a place called the Crato Formation.

This ancient ant was part of a strange group called hell ants. They are now extinct, which means they don’t exist anymore. The fossil was named Vulcanidris cratensis. The name comes from the Vulcano family, who gave the rock to scientists.

The fossil was studied by Anderson Lepeco, a scientist who works with insects. He looked at the fossil using special machines to see the tiny details. What he found was amazing.

This ant had weird jaws that looked like scythes (curved blades). But instead of going down like modern ant jaws, these jaws pointed upward. The ant probably used them to grab and stab other insects, like a tiny predator.

Before this, the oldest known ant fossil was 100 million years old. This new one is 13 million years older! That’s a big deal for scientists. It shows that ants were around a lot earlier than we thought.

The ant lived during a time called the Cretaceous Period. It was a warm time with lots of different animals, including reptiles, feathered dinosaurs, and many kinds of insects. These hell ants were likely very good hunters.

Sadly, hell ants didn’t survive. They disappeared about 66 million years ago, during a big mass extinction. That’s the same event that killed the dinosaurs. But their fossils help us learn a lot about the past.

This fossil also tells us how ants changed over time. It is a remarkable proof that even millions of years ago, ants were already adapting and trying different ways to live and hunt. No surprise! That’s something which have helped ants become one of the most successful insects on Earth today.

The scientists felt excited and grateful. They were happy that such a rare fossil was found and shared with them. They also think there may be more ancient insects hiding in the rocks of Brazil.

This discovery helps us understand how life on Earth has changed. It reminds us that even tiny creatures like ants have a long and amazing history. Every fossil we find is like a piece of a puzzle that tells the story of our planet.

So, the Vulcanidris cratensis is more than just an old ant. It’s a window into the past, showing us what life looked like over 100 million years ago.