The first fossil ant from Africa, found in amber dating back 95 million years, challenges a previously held theory that ants originated in North America or East Asia. The finding is part of a larger study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifying 28 fossilized insects, one spider and one mite, as well as a variety of flora all trapped in amber from Ethiopia.The insects, the oldest that have been identified in Africa, are from the Cretaceous. There are also numerous fungi, ferns and spores that were previously unknown to paleontologists.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/science/06obamber.html?scp=1&sq=North%20Africa&st=cse
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I hope that they find out where the ant really came from, and good article by the way.