Now, a team in Brazil has uncovered a 113-million-year-old hell ant that represents the oldest hell ant specimen known to science. “What makes this discovery particularly interesting is that it belongs to the extinct ‘hell ant,’ known for their bizarre predatory adaptations. CT-Scan reconstruction of the hell ant fossil. “While we expected to find hell ant features, we were shocked by the characteristics of its feeding apparatus,” said Lepeco. “Finding such an anatomically specialized ant from 113 million years ago challenges our assumptions about how quickly these insects developed complex adaptations,” said Lepeco.