title: An ant-associated mesostigmatid mite in Baltic amber.
abstract: Fossil mesostigmatid mites (Acari: Parasitiformes: Mesostigmata) are extremely rare, and specimens from only nine families, including four named species, have been described so far. A new record of Myrmozercon sp. described here from Eocene (ca 44-49 Myr) Baltic amber represents the first-and so far only-fossil example of the derived, extant family Laelapidae. Significantly, modern species of this genus are habitually myrmecophilous and the fossil mite described here is preserved attached to the head of the dolichoderine ant Ctenobethylus goepperti (Mayr, 1868). It thus offers the oldest unequivocal evidence for an ecological association between mesostigmatid mites and social insects in the order Hymenoptera.
authors.affiliation: Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, Berlin 10115, Germany jason.dunlop@mfn-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dunlop
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 102, Budapest 1525, Hungary.
authors.forename: Jenő
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kontschán
authors.affiliation: Queensland Museum, Brisbane, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: CNRS UMR 6118 Géosciences, Université de Rennes 1, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, Rennes 35042, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perrichot
mesh_terms: D000053:Acari / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*; D018647:Amber; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000469:parasitology*; D001454:Baltic States; D005580:Fossils; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D018647:Amber
keywords: Arachnida; Hymenoptera; Parasitiformes; fossil record; myrmecophily