Ants exhibit a plethora of ecological interactions with terrestrial plants. These interactions are broadly surveyed in modern ecosystems, but are much more difficult to unveil in the fossil record. Here, we report a unique ant–conifer association preserved in an opaque piece of 100‐million‐year‐old amber from Charentes in Western France, revealed by propagation phase‐contrast X‐ray synchrotron microtomography (PPC‐SRμCT). Most legs of the ant encircle the conifer twig, and the arthropod harbours a hooked position onto the leafy axis. The conifer is assigned to Glenrosa carentonensis Moreau, Néraudeau, Tafforeau and Dépré, whereas the ant is ascribed to Gerontoformica occidentalis Perrichot, Nel, Néraudeau, Lacau and Guyot. The purpose of this study was to discuss diverse hypotheses that could explain the natural association of these fossils (including random and ecological associations) and its palaeoecological implications. While a mutualistic interaction between Gerontoformica and Glenrosa cannot be unambiguously demonstrated here, these associates raise questions on the ant–conifer interactions during the early ant evolution.

中文翻译：

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在法国琥珀内有1亿年历史的蚂蚁/针叶树同伴：是偶然的还是生态的？

蚂蚁与陆地植物表现出过多的生态相互作用。这些相互作用在现代生态系统中已得到广泛调查，但在化石记录中更难揭示。在这里，我们报道了一个独特的蚂蚁—针叶树的关联，该关联保存在法国西部夏朗德的一块不透明的亿万年前的琥珀中，通过传播相差X射线同步辐射显微照相术（PPC-SRμCT）揭示。蚂蚁的大多数腿环绕着针叶树的树枝，节肢动物在绿叶轴上处于钩状位置。针叶树被分配给Glenrosa carentonensis Moreau，Néraudeau，Tafforeau和Dépré，而蚂蚁被分配给西方Gerontoformica occidentalisPerrichot，Nel，Néraudeau，Lacau和Guyot。本研究的目的是讨论可以解释这些化石的自然联系（包括随机和生态联系）及其古生态意义的各种假设。虽然在这里不能明确地证明Gerontoformica和Glenrosa之间的相互影响，但这些同伴对早期蚂蚁进化过程中的蚂蚁与针叶树之间的相互作用提出了疑问。