Apis nearctica is an extinct species of honey bee which existed in what is now Nevada during the Middle Miocene period. It was discovered at Stewart Valley, Nevada, and described by Michael S. Engel, Ismael A. Hinojosa-Díaz, and Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn in 2009.
| Apis nearctica Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | Apis |
| Species: | †A. nearctica
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| Binomial name | |
| †Apis nearctica Engel, Hinojosa-Díaz & Rasnitsyn, 2009
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The species belongs to the extinct armbrusteri species group, is most similar to the extinct species Apis armbrusteri from the Miocene of southwestern Germany, and both species may be related by geological range.
This is the first and only known Apis species range in the New World, although it is a fossil. And is the first and only fossil species ranged there.[1]
References
edit- ^ Michael S. Engel, Ismael A. Hinojosa-Díaz & Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn (2009). "A honey bee from the Miocene of Nevada and the biogeography of Apis (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apini)" (PDF). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. 4. 60 (3): 23–38.
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