Brownimecia

Brownimecia Temporal range: 94–90 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Brownimecia clavata holotype
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	†Brownimeciinae Bolton, 2003
Tribe:	†Brownimeciini Bolton, 2003
Genus:	†Brownimecia Grimaldi, Agosti & Carpenter, 1997
Type species
Brownimecia clavata Grimaldi et al., 1997
Species
Brownimecia inconspicua

Brownimecia is an extinct genus of ants, the only genus in the tribe Brownimeciini and subfamily Brownimeciinae of the Formicidae. Fossils of the identified species, Brownimecia clavata and Brownimecia inconspicua, are known from the Late Cretaceous of North America. The genus is one of several ants described from Late Cretaceous ambers of New Jersey. Brownimecia was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, until it was transferred to its own subfamily in 2003; it can be distinguished from other ants due to its unusual sickle-like mandibles and other morphological features that makes this ant unique among the Formicidae. B. clavata is also small, measuring 3.43 millimetres (0.135 in), and a stinger is present in almost all of the specimens collected. The morphology of the mandibles suggest a high level of feeding specialization.