Cephalotes jansei is an extinct[1] species of arboreal ant of the genus Cephalotes, originally erroneously called Exocryptocerus jansei by its discoverers,[2] characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop from a tree, giving them the nickname of gliding ants.

[2] Their larger and flatter legs, a trait common with other members of the genus Cephalotes, gave them their gliding abilities.

[5] The species was first given a description and a classification by German entomologists Gijsbertus Vierbergen and Joachim Scheven in 1995.

It was subsequently described in Diversity and Adaptation in the Ant Genus Cephalotes Past and Present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) as a sister group to Cephalotes serratus, possessing slightly larger and more triangular mandibles.

[6] Cephalotes jansei was probably native of Hispaniola as well as the Lesser Antilles although lack of sufficient evidence makes this uncertain.