Apis lithohermaea, also known as giant honey bee[1] (not to be confused with Extant Apis dorsata common name) is an extinct species of honey bee in the dorsata species group. It is the largest fossil honey bee and one of the biggest honey bees ever discovered, rivaling in size the modern Apis dorsata and could matching as well, and is the first recorded fossil of the dorsata species group. Although the dorsata group does not occur further north than Tibet, south than southern China and Philippines. [2]
| Apis lithohermaea 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. lithohermaea
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| Binomial name | |
| †Apis lithohermaea Engel, 2006
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The type fossil specimen of A. lithohermaea was collected from Iki Island, Japan.[2]
References
edit- ^ "The giant honey bee, Apis lithohermaea Engel, from the Miocene of Japan and the geological history of Apis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)". AGRIS. Michael S. Engel. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
- ^ a b Engel, M. S. (2006). "The giant honey bee, Apis lithohermaea Engel, from the Miocene of Japan and the geological history of Apis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)". Honeybee Science - Tamagawa University (Japan) (in Japanese). ISSN 0388-2217.