# Protoclaviger

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***Protoclaviger*** is an [extinct](/source/Extinct) Early [Eocene](/source/Eocene) [transitional fossil](/source/Transitional_fossil) [myrmecophile](/source/Myrmecophile) of the [rove beetle](/source/Rove_beetle) subfamily [Pselaphinae](/source/Pselaphinae), and a [stem group](/source/Stem_group) of the modern supertribe Clavigeritae, of which *[Claviger](/source/Claviger_(beetle))* is a representative. All modern Clavigeritae are morphologically specialized obligate colony [parasites](/source/Parasites) of ant nests, soliciting food via [trophallaxis](/source/Trophallaxis) from worker ants, and preying on the nest brood.

The [amber](/source/Amber)-embedded [holotype](/source/Holotype) specimen of the single species, *Protoclaviger trichodens*, was recovered from a piece of 52 million-year-old [Cambay](/source/Cambay) amber from [Gujarat](/source/Gujarat), [India](/source/India).[1] *P. trichodens* differs to modern Clavigeritae in its possession of a segmented dorsal abdomen; in [extant](/source/Extant_taxon) species, the abdominal [tergites](/source/Tergites) are fused into single large segment. *P. trichodens* also possesses 8 [antennal](/source/Antenna_(biology)) segments and mouthparts that extend outside the oral cavity, whereas modern species have between 3 and 6 antennal segments, and mouthparts that are contained within the oral cavity.

*Protoclaviger* is believed to represent an intermediate stage in the evolution of morphological specialization that adapted modern Clavigeritae to life inside ant colonies. Its discovery in Cambay amber, which holds one of the earliest diverse assemblages of modern ant subfamilies,[2] indicates that the ant-beetle symbiosis is evolutionarily ancient.[3][4][5]

## References

1. Joseph Parker and David A. Grimaldi (2014). "Specialized Myrmecophily at the Ecological Dawn of Modern Ants". *Current Biology*. **24** (20): 2428–2434. [Bibcode:2014CBio...24.2428P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014CBio...24.2428P). [doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.08.068](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.08.068). [PMID 25283779](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25283779)

1. Jes Rust et al. (2010). "Biogeographic and evolutionary implications of a diverse paleobiota in amber from the early Eocene of India". *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA*. **107** (43): 18360–18365. [Bibcode:2010PNAS..10718360R](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010PNAS..10718360R). [doi:10.1073/pnas.1007407107](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007407107). [PMC 2972964](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2972964). [PMID 20974929](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20974929)

1. ["Researchers Discover 52-million-year-old "Ant-loving" Beetle"](http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/research-posts/researchers-discover-52-million-year-old-ant-loving-beetle). American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2014-10-02.

1. "Evolution: Oldest ant lover found entombed". *Nature*. **514** (7521): 142. 9 October 2014. [Bibcode:2014Natur.514Q.142.](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Natur.514Q.142.). [doi:10.1038/514142a](https://doi.org/10.1038/514142a)

1. ["52 Million Years Old, and an Ant's Worst Enemy"](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/science/52-million-years-old-and-an-ants-worst-enemy.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar). *New York Times*. Retrieved 2014-10-02.

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