Sphecomyrma is an extinct genus of ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

 which inhabited the northern hemisphere of the supercontinent Laurasia

Laurasia

In paleogeography, Laurasia was the northernmost of two supercontinents that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from approximately...

 approximately 80 mya in the Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

. It is one of the earliest known species of ant.

In 1966 a specimen of Sphecomyrma freyi was found embedded in amber which had been exposed in the cliffs of Cliffwood, New Jersey

Cliffwood, New Jersey

Cliffwood is an unincorporated area within Aberdeen Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07721....

 by Mr. Edmund Frey and his wife. In 1967 E. O. Wilson

E. O. Wilson

Edward Osborne Wilson is an American biologist, researcher , theorist , naturalist and author. His biological specialty is myrmecology, the study of ants....

, F. M. Carpenter

Frank M. Carpenter

Frank M. Carpenter received his PhD from Harvard University, and was curator of fossil insects at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for 60 years. He studied the Permian fossil insects of Elmo, Kansas, and compared the North American fossil insect fauna with Paleozoic taxa known from...

 and William L. Brown, Jr. published a paper describing and naming Sphecomyrma freyi. They described an ant with a mosaic of features, a mix of characteristics from modern ants and aculeate wasps

Aculeata

The name Aculeata is used to refer to a monophyletic lineage of Hymenoptera. The word "Aculeata" is a reference to the defining feature of the group, which is the modification of the ovipositor into a stinger . In other words, the structure that was originally used to lay eggs is modified instead...

. It possessed a metapleural gland

Metapleural gland

Metapleural glands are secretory glands that are unique to ants and basal in the evolutionary history of ants. They are responsible for the production of an antibiotic fluid that then collects in in a reservoir on the posterior of the ant's alitrunk...

, a feature unique to ants, it was wingless and possessed a petiole

Petiole (insect)

In entomology, the term petiole is most commonly used to refer to the constricted first metasomal segment of members of the Hymenopteran suborder Apocrita; it may be used to refer to other insects with similar body shapes, where the metasomal base is constricted...

 which was ant-like in form. The mandible

Mandible (arthropod)

thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...

 was short and wasp-like with only two teeth, the gaster

Gaster

The gaster is the bulbous posterior portion of the metasoma found in Apocrita Hymenoptera . This begins with abdominal segment III on most ants, but some make a postpetiole out of segment III, in which case the gaster begins with abdominal segment IV....

 constricted and the middle and hind legs had double tibial

Arthropod leg

The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...

 spurs, wasp-like features. The antennae

Antenna (biology)

Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....

 were, in form, midway between the wasps and ants, having a short first segment but a long flexible funiculus

Funiculus

The cerebrospinal fibers consist of numerous nerve fibers collected together and enclosed in membranous sheaths. A small bundle of fibers, enclosed in a tubular sheath, is called a funiculus; if the nerve is of small size, it may consist only of a single funiculus; but if large, the funiculi are...

.