PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to http://to.pbs.org/DonateEons ↓ More info below ↓ This ancient species had the same six legs and segmented body that we’d recognize from an ant today. But it also had a huge, scythe-like jaw and a horn coming out of its head. This bizarre predator belonged to a group known as “hell ants.” But they’re gone now, and we’re still trying to figure out why. Please see the pinned comment for a disclaimer on the ethical issues surrounding Burmese amber in paleontology. The thumbnail is an illustration of Haidomyrmex by Franz Anthony. Thanks to Franz (http://franzanth.com/) and Ceri Thomas (https://nixillustration.com/) for their Hell Ant illustrations featured in this episode! And special thanks to Phillip Barden and David Grimaldi for providing images from their paper on Cretaceous ants: Barden, Phillip and David Grimaldi. “Adaptive Radiation in Socially Advanced Stem-Group Ants from the Cretaceous” Current Biology, February 22, 2016 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdfExtended/S0960-9822(16)00041-5 Produced in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios: null Super special thanks to the following Patreon patrons for helping make Eons possible: Julie Cohen, salsablog.band, Michael Hof, Sean C. Kennedy, Eric Roberto, Rodriguez, Hillary Ryde-Collins, Facts Dinosaurs, Frida, YaBoiSam36, Matthew Donnelly, Yu Mei, Colleen Troussel, Dan Ritter, faxo, Gary Walker, Amanda Straw, Stephanie Tan, Laura Sanborn, simon read, Minyuan Li, Ben Cooper, Leonid, Robert Noah, Matt Parker, Heathe Kyle Yeakley, Jerrit Erickson, Anton Bryl, MissyElliottSmith, Zachary Spencer, Stefan Weber, Andrey, Ilya Murashov, Merri Snaidman, Gabriel Cortez, Marcus Lejon, Robert Arévalo, Todd Dittman, Betsy Radley, Anthony Callaghan, Philip Slingerland, John Vanek, Eric Vonk, Henrik Peteri, Jon Monteiro, James Bording, Miles Chaston, Michael McClellan, Jeff Graham, Maria Humphrey, Daisuke Goto, Gregory Kintz, Chandler Bass, Tsee Lee, Robert Hill If you'd like to support the channel, head over to http://patreon.com/eons and pledge for some cool rewards! Want to follow Eons elsewhere on the internet? Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eonsshow Twitter - https://twitter.com/eonsshow Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eonsshow/ References: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V5P1Aq5U3FrkA9Gpu9Ze91InpadVCiQ2Ig7q1J_vN-k/edit?usp=sharing