Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
382 / Mesozoic
Ceratomyrmex
Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri
A long forehead horn opposed upward-curving mandibles.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 99 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cretaceous
- Geographic range
- Resin forest · Myanmar
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Ceratomyrmex?
Ceratomyrmex (Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri) was an extinct organism known from About 99 million years ago, with a range in Resin forest · Myanmar.
Life and ecology
This predator trapped small animals between its vertical head structures.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Ceratomyrmex disappear?
Modern ants later diversified, but a younger fauna does not by itself show that they replaced this distinctive feeding mechanism.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Ceratomyrmex?
Amber preserves the horn, jaws, antennae and legs in three dimensions.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS