A Restudy of Two Ants From the Sicilian Amber

The ants of the (presumably Miocene) Sicilian Amber were monographed by Emery (1891), and, except for corrections published by Emery himself (1913), this faunule has not again been subjected to critical study. Since 1891, of course, formicid taxonomy has undergone radical changes, some of them affecting genera found in this amber. Ectatornrna gracile, for example, was described from a male specimen that would not today be placed in Ectatornrna, but instead, as based on Emery’s description (1.891:571) and figures (P1. 1, fig. 1, 2) is assignable to Gnarnptogenys (Kugler and Brown, in prep.). It is not our purpose here, however, to review all of Emery’s Sicilian Amber ants. Rather, we want to present the results of our study of just two of his type specimens that are particularly significant for ant taxonomy. The specimens, in two separate pieces of amber belonging to the Museo Mineralogico dell’UniversitY, degli Studi, Bologna, Italy, were lent through the kindness of Prof. Gianfranco Simboli, Director of the Museo Mineralogico, who has our thanks. The new preparation of the specimens and their photographs were done by FMC, while WLB is responsible for the taxonomic interpretation of the material.