Zigrasimeciinae is a subfamily of

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

, known from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

period, originally named as the tribe Zigrasimeciini within the subfamily Sphecomyrminae by Borysenko, 2017, it was elevated to full subfamily in 2020. It contains three described genera. They are sometimes known as "iron-maiden ants" in reference to their densely spiked mouthparts, reminiscent of an

iron maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

torture device, that were likely used to trap prey. '' Boltonimecia canadensis'' was described from

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campani ...

Canadian amber out of Alberta, Canada, while the species of '' Protozigrasimecia'' and '' Zigrasimecia'' are both exclusively known from Cenomanian

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

found in Myanmar.

Genera and species

* '' Boltonimecia'' ** ''B. canadensis'' *'' Protozigrasimecia'' ** ''P. chauli'' * '' Zigrasimecia'' ** ''Z. ferox'' ** ''Z. goldingot'' ** ''Z. hoelldobleri'' ** ''Z. tonsora''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q110078439 Ants Ant subfamilies