publication . Article . 2003

Subterranean ant nests: trace fossils past and future?

Name: Subterranean ant nests: trace fossils past and future?
Creator: Walter R. Tschinkel
Keywords: Earth-Surface Processes, Palaeontology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Oceanography

Walter R. Tschinkel;

Open Access

Published: 01 Mar 2003

Summary

Abstract

Many species of ants excavate complex, species-typical nests in soil. The basic structural units of many nests are descending tunnels connecting flattened, generally horizontal chambers of oval to lobed outline. The species-typical structure of many nests results from variation in the size, shape, number and arrangement of these basic elements. Nest architecture can be rendered by filling subterranean nests with a thin slurry of orthodontal plaster, then excavating and reconstructing the hardened cast. Photographs of such nest casts of nine species of ants from northern Florida show the range and type of variation of architecture. Preservation conditions under w...

doi: 10.1016/s0031-0182(02)00690-9

Subjects

free text keywords: Earth-Surface Processes, Palaeontology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Oceanography, Geology, Trace fossil, Paleontology, Nest

Related Organizations