Sep 19 2008
A newly discovered species of a blind, subterranean predator — dubbed the “Ant from Mars” — is likely a descendant of one of the very first ants to evolve on Earth, a new study finds.
The ant is well-adapted for its underground home, with a long, pale body and no eyes. It also has long, slender forceps-like mandibles that researchers suspect the ant uses to capture prey.
M. heureka not only constitutes a new species, but a new genus and subfamily of ants as well. The new subfamily, one of 21 ant subfamilies, is the first new one to be named by scientists since 1967.
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Hey, who's the guy with the sword?
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