Mitochondrial and chemical profiles reveal a new genus and species of Neotropical termite with snapping soldiers, Palmitermes impostor (Termitidae : Termitinae)

Abstract

Since the inception of Linnaean taxonomy, termite species and genus descriptions have been mostly based on the morphology of soldiers, sometimes complemented by alate characters, though these are seldom discriminant. However, narrowly soldier-based descriptions may overemphasise ancestral characters and lead to the establishment of non-monophyletic taxa. In this paper, we used an integrative taxonomic approach that incorporates the morphology of all castes, including workers, as well as molecular and chemical data, to describe Palmitermes impostor Hellemans & Roisin, 2017 (Termitidae:Termitinae), a new termite genus and species from French Guiana. Although the soldiers of P. impostor resemble those of Termes Linnaeus, 1758, the digestive tract and mandibles of workers suggest that Palmitermes is closely related to Cavitermes Emerson, 1925. The sister-group relationship between Palmitermes and Cavitermes was confirmed by a phylogenetic reconstruction based on full mitochondrial genome sequences as well as by the comparison of the profiles of cuticular hydrocarbons of workers with those of related taxa. Our study illustrates the benefits of using an integrative taxonomic approach to describe new taxa and the pitfalls of using soldier morphology as the exclusive set of characters in termite systematics.

First records of the termite, Termes hispaniolae (Banks, 1918) (Isoptera, Termitidae, Termitinae), from Bolivia and new Caribbean Basin records

“…The only depictions of Termes worker EVAs were photographs by Miller (1990: fig. 21, of T. fatalis Lin naeus, 1758, type), Hellemans et al 2017: fig. 7B, also of T. fatalis), and Sands (1998: pl.…”

Secondary queens in the parthenogenetic termite Cavitermes tuberosus develop through a transitional helper stage

“…Nymphoid neotenics were frequently found in nests of C. tuberosus , and their occurrence is most likely a normal step in the colony's life cycle (Fournier et al, ). Neotenics have been reported from several species in the clade comprising Cavitermes, its close relative Spinitermes , Palmitermes impostor , (see Hellemans et al, , ; Kyjaková et al, , for recent phylogenies): Spinitermes brevicornutus, S. nigrostomus (review in Noirot, ), S. robustus , S. trispinosus (Carrijo, ), Termes hospes (Noirot, ), T. laticornis , T. riograndensis (as T. saltans ; Noirot, ), and several Australian taxa probably part of the same clade: Xylochomitermes (as Termes ) occidualis , X. reductus , Hesperotermes infrequens (Gay, ), and Cristatitermes pineaformis , in which Miller () mentions two occurrences of multiple neotenic females with an imaginal king. Although the reports of neotenics are few, the ability to produce nymphoid neotenics, sometimes in the pattern very reminiscent of the AQS breeding system, appears widespread in this clade.…”

“…Furthermore, nymphs of the same morphology as aspirants in C. tuberosus were determined to be parthenogenetically produced also in Palmitermes impostor , the sister genus of Cavitermes (Hellemans et al, , ). Therefore, aspirants can be a useful clue for the detection of parthenogenesis (and AQS) in other species since the actual breeding system is often masked by the genetic uniformity of the sterile castes and reproductive cores are not always easy to find, while aspirants can be found throughout the nest.…”

“…This replacement supposedly enhances the reproductive capacity of the colony (Matsuura, ). First reported from Reticulitermes species (Luchetti, Velonà, Mueller, & Mantovani, ; Matsuura et al, ; Vargo, Labadie, & Matsuura, ), AQS was recently demonstrated in several Termitidae (Fougeyrollas et al, , ; Fournier, Hellemans, Hanus, & Roisin, ; Hellemans, Bourguignon, Kyjaková, Hanus, & Roisin, ). Observations on all these species suggest that the caste fate of asexually produced females is determined by their parthenogenetic origin since most parthenogens develop into neotenic queens and only a small portion into other castes (Matsuura, ).…”

“…These biases probably occur all year-round, as they were observed in colonies of C. tuberosus sampled in March and October. Our data collected for C. tuberosus can be compared with the developmental scheme of the Termitinae Termes hospes, the closest relative from which data on the developmental scheme are available (see Bourguignon et al, 2017;Hellemans et al, 2017, for recent phylogenies). In T. hospes, the apterous line is composed of three worker instars, and soldier development initiates only from females of the first worker instar (Noirot, 1955), showing that this developmental scheme is conserved among the Termes-group (sensu Jones & Eggleton, 2011).…”