Termites (Isoptera): Their Phylogeny, Classification, and Rise to Ecological Dominance

Abstract

Like ants, termites are entirely eusocial and have profound ecological significance in the tropics. Following upon recent studies reporting more than a quarter of all known fossil termites, we present the first phylogeny of termite lineages using exemplar Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Recent taxa. Relationships among Recent families were largely unaffected by the addition of extinct taxa, but the analysis revealed extensive grades of stem-group taxa and the divergence of some modern families in the Cretaceous. Rhinotermitidae, Serritermitidae, and the ''higher'' termites (family Termitidae), which comprise 84% of the world termite species, diverged and radiated entirely in the Tertiary, corresponding to a significant increase in termite individuals in the fossil record. Radiation of the higher termites may have affected the formation of terrestrial carbon reserves like oil and coal. The higher classification of Isoptera is slightly revised based on the phylogenetic results. The following new taxa are proposed: Cratomastotermitidae, new family; Euisoptera, new clade; Archotermopsidae, new family; and Neoisoptera, new clade. In addition, the families Stolotermitidae, Stylotermitidae, and Archeorhinotermitidae are newly recognized or resurrected, and the families Termopsidae and Hodotermitidae are significantly restricted in composition.

Scheffersomyces cryptocercus: a new xylose-fermenting yeast associated with the gut of wood roaches and new combinations in theSugiyamaellayeast clade

“…Several studies of unidentified cockroaches collected in Panama and Blatta orientalis from Germany (Henninger andWindisch 1976, Nguyen et al 2007) report differences in the gut yeasts that probably reflect differences in behavior and geographical distribution between cockroaches and Cryptocercus. Although the common occurrence of some gut microbes have been used to support a sister group relationship between Cryptocercus and termites, too few data support this contention (Legendre et al 2008, Engel et al 2009). In addition the occurrence of the gut yeasts outside the insects argues that the yeasts may be acquired from the habitat.…”

Natural selection drives the evolution of ant life cycles

“…Of the 28 insect orders alive today (the number recognized varies slightly according to taxonomic opinion), 14 were present at that time. The Paleozoic survivors include many of our most familiar insects: barklice, thrips, hemipterans such as treehoppers and shield bugs, dobsonflies and other neuropterans, mayflies, dragonflies, orthopterans, cockroaches, stoneflies, and beetles (especially archostematans) (20,22,23). Of the 14 orders known to have originated in the following Mesozoic Era, all are present today.…”

Biogeographic and evolutionary implications of a diverse paleobiota in amber from the early Eocene of India

“…Radiations of disparate, ecological keystone insects that are hypothesized to have taken place during the EECO include highly social lineages, pollinators, parasitoids, and diverse phytophages (23,24). These specifically are the corbiculate bees, including the eusocial stingless bees and honey bees, which are competitively superior pollinators; ants of the presently dominant subfamilies Formicinae, Dolichoderinae, and Myrmecinae; the "higher" termites (family Termitidae, comprising 80% of all Recent termite species); the highly diverse schizophoran flies and chalcidoid wasps; as well as the phytophagous lineages of neococcoid scale insects and the macrolepidopterans.…”

“…Besides early corbiculate bees, the fauna also includes the earliest definitive Rhinotermitidae termites (Fig. 2G), which is a recently derived, cosmopolitan family of 335 living species whose oldest definitive fossils until now were from the Miocene (24). Cambay amber also preserves one of the earliest diverse paleofaunas of ants (Formicidae), the only other of comparable age is preserved in amber from Oise, France.…”

“…Second, molecular estimates and pollen records cannot account for the physiognomy that distinguishes rain forest, such as arborescence, leaf shape, and the presence of epiphytes and lianas (54). Third, many groups existed in the fossil record far before they became ecologically dominant, such as ants and termites (23,24), so it is likewise unrealistic to assume that the times of estimated taxon divergence or radiation is the same as the spread of a dominant ecosystem. Based on direct fossil evidence, the Cambay Shale Formation provides one of the earliest unequivocal Asian records of a diverse, broad-leaved tropical forest and its diverse arthropod fauna.…”