Phylogeny, biogeography and classification of Teletisoptera (Blattaria: Isoptera)

Abstract

Termites are social cockroaches distributed throughout warm temperate and tropical ecosystems. The ancestor of modern termites roamed the earth during the early Cretaceous, suggesting that both vicariance and overseas dispersal may have shaped the distribution of early diverging termites. We investigate the historical biogeography of three early diverging termite families –Stolotermitidae, Hodotermitidae and Archotermopsidae (clade Teletisoptera) – using the nuclear rRNA genes and mitochondrial genomes of 27 samples. Our analyses confirm the monophyly of Teletisoptera, with Stolotermitidae diverging from Hodotermitidae + Archotermopsidae approximately 100 Ma. Although Hodotermitidae are monophyletic, our results demonstrate the paraphyly of Archotermopsidae. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the timing of divergence among the main lineages of Hodotermitidae + Archotermopsidae are compatible with vicariance. In the Stolotermitidae, however, the common ancestors of modern Porotermes Hagen and Stolotermes Hagen are roughly as old as 20 and 35 Ma, respectively, indicating that the presence of these genera in South America, Africa and Australia involved over‐water dispersals. Overall, our results suggest that early diverging termite lineages acquired their current distribution through a combination of over‐water dispersals and dispersal via land bridges. We clarify the classification by resolving the paraphyly of Archotermopsidae, restricting the family to Archotermopsis Desneux and Zootermopsis Emerson and elevating Hodotermopsinae (Hodotermopsis Holmgren) as Hodotermopsidae (status novum).

A new primitive termite from the lower cretaceous (Albian) Jinju Formation of Korea

“…The internal composition of Archotermopsidae has been modified to resolve paraphyly with Hodotermitidae (Wang et al 2022), by elevating the Hodotermopsinae and the Archotermopsinae (subfamilies of Archotermopsidae in Jiang et al 2021) to familial rank: Hodotermopsidae (Hodotermopsis) and Archotermopsidae (Archotermopsis, and Zootermopsis) (Wang et al 2022).…”

“…The family Archotermopsidae (sensu Wang et al 2022) is assumed to have its crown group diversifying after the early Eocene, and its ghost lineage (including its stem groups) diverges during the Early Cretaceous (e.g., Bucek et al 2019;Jouault et al 2021;Wang et al 2022).…”

“…We follow the morphological terminology and the classification of termites as presented in Krishna et al (2013), with recent additions of Jiang et al (2021) and Wang et al (2022), except for modifications to wing venation terms concerning the PCu vein, adapted from Schubnel et al (2019), and we retain the name Isoptera (Lo et al 2007), although as subordinate to Blattodea (as advocated by Lo et al 2007;and Krishna et al 2013).…”

“…The phylogeny of termites has been greatly clarified during the past decade with early input from morphological data, later complement with broad molecular-based phylogenetic analyses (e.g., Engel et al 2009;Krishna et al 2013;Bourguignon et al 2015;Legendre et al 2015;Bucek et al 2019;Jouault et al 2021;Wang et al 2022). Combined with the increase of fossil representatives of modern families, allowing a better delineation of each family, these analyses have greatly contributed to clarify the limits of fossil families.…”

Wood feeding and social living: Draft genome of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus (Blattodea; Termitoidae)

“…There are approximately 3000 termite species distributed in 10 families (Wang et al, 2022). All termite species, although to different degrees, exhibit some form of eusociality (Krishna et al, 2013).…”