{{short description|Extinct species of ant}} {{Speciesbox | image = Cephalotes jansei SMNSDO5688 dorsal.jpg | image_caption = Holotype in Dominican amber | extinct = yes | genus = Cephalotes | species = jansei | authority = (Vierbergen & Scheven, 1995) | synonyms = *''Exocryptocerus jansei'' }}
'''''Cephalotes jansei''''' is an extinct<ref>{{cite book |last1=Forel |first1=A. |title=Formicides Néotropiques. Part II. |date=1912 |publisher=Société Entomologique de Belgique |pages=179–209 |edition=3}}</ref> species of arboreal ant of the genus ''Cephalotes'', originally erroneously called '''''Exocryptocerus jansei''''' by its discoverers,<ref name="Diversity"/> characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop from a tree, giving them the nickname of gliding ants.<ref>Latreille, P.A. (1802). Histoire naturelle, generale et particuliere des crustaces et des insectes. Vol. 3. ''F. Dufart, Paris''. 467 pp. [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/social_insects/ants/publications/0242/0242.pdf PDF]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Yanoviak | first1 = S. P. | last2 = Munk | first2 = Y. | last3 = Dudley | first3 = R. | doi = 10.1093/icb/icr006 | title = Evolution and Ecology of Directed Aerial Descent in Arboreal Ants | journal = Integrative and Comparative Biology | volume = 51 | issue = 6 | pages = 944–956 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21562023| doi-access = free }}</ref> The species was probably native of Hispaniola, however, lack of more evidence makes this uncertain.<ref name="Diversity">{{cite book |last1=De Andrade |first1=Maria |last2=Urbani |first2=Cesare |title=Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |location=Basel |page=526 |url=https://archive.org/details/biostor-102758 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref> Their larger and flatter legs, a trait common with other members of the genus ''Cephalotes'', gave them their gliding abilities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Andrade |first1=Maria |last2=Urbani |first2=Cesare |title=Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |date=1999 |publisher=Stuttgarter Beitraege zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Palaeontologie) |pages=[https://archive.org/details/biostor-102758/page/n532 529]-530 |url=https://archive.org/details/biostor-102758 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>
The species was first given a description and a classification by German entomologists Gijsbertus Vierbergen and Joachim Scheven in 1995. It was subsequently described in ''Diversity and Adaptation in the Ant Genus Cephalotes Past and Present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)'' as a sister group to ''Cephalotes serratus'', possessing slightly larger and more triangular mandibles. It was discovered fossilized in amber on the island of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Andrade |first1=Maria |last2=Urbani |first2=Cesare |title=Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |location=Basel |url=https://archive.org/details/biostor-102758 |access-date=22 January 2019}}</ref>
==Discovery== ''Cephalotes jansei'' was probably native of Hispaniola as well as the Lesser Antilles although lack of sufficient evidence makes this uncertain. It was discovered fossilized in Dominican amber, extracted in the Dominican Republic and is dated between the Burdigalian and Langhian ages of the Miocene, which means between 20.44 and 13,82 million years ago.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cephalotes jansei Vierbergen and Scheven 1995 (ant) |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=226355 |website=Fossilworks |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5063412}}
jansei Category:Burdigalian life Category:Miocene insects of North America Category:Prehistoric insects of the Caribbean Category:Fauna of Hispaniola Category:Insects of the Dominican Republic Category:Dominican amber Category:Fossil taxa described in 1995