''Cephalotes olmecus'' is an extinct species of arboreal ant of the genus '' Cephalotes'' known only from

Mexican amber Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas Amber is amber found in Mexico, created during the Early Miocene and middle Miocene epochs of the Cenozoic Era in southwestern North America. As with other ambers, a wide variety of taxa have been found as inc ...

inclusions.

Taxonomy

''Cephalotes olmecus'' was first described in 1999 from two

Chiapas amber Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas Amber is amber found in Mexico, created during the Early Miocene and middle Miocene epochs of the Cenozoic Era in southwestern North America. As with other ambers, a wide variety of taxa have been found as incl ...

fossil inclusions of respectively a worker and a dwarf soldier ant. Maria de Andrade, who described the species, placed ''C. olmecus'' in the ''grandinosus'' clade in which it forms a subclade with fossil species ''

Cephalotes maya ''Cephalotes maya'' is an extinct species of arboreal ant of the genus '' Cephalotes'', characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they're on. Giving their name also as ...

'' and extant species ''

Cephalotes foliaceus ''Cephalotes foliaceus'' is a species of arboreal ant of the genus '' Cephalotes'', characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they're on. Giving their name also as gli ...

''. The specific epithet ''olmecus'' is in reference to the Olmecs of Mexico.

References

olmecus Fossil taxa described in 1999 Insects described in 1999 Mexican amber {{Cephalotes-stub