Towards a revision of the Neotropical soldierless termites (Isoptera: Termitidae): redescription of the genusGrigiotermes Mathews and description of five new genera

Abstract

Soldierless termites are extremely abundant in South America where they account for up to one-third of the termite species richness. However, their diversity has mostly been addressed through scattered, indecisive descriptions, leaving large gaps in our understanding of termite diversity. Here, to progress towards a more complete knowledge of this group, we redescribe the genus Grigiotermes and describe five new genera, Amplucrutermes, Humutermes, Hydrecotermes, Patawatermes, and Rubeotermes, comprising a total of nine species. We reassign four species to new genera, synonymize two species, and provide extensive descriptions and diagnoses for all taxa included here. We also provide a molecular phylogeny of selected Neotropical and Old World Apicotermitinae and provide a key to the genera of Neotropical workers to facilitate identification.

Termite (Isoptera) Diversity in a Gallery Forests Relict in the Colombian Eastern Plains

“…Identification at the genus and species levels was conducted using appropriate keys (Bourguignon et al, 2010(Bourguignon et al, , 2013(Bourguignon et al, , 2016Carrijo et al, 2011;Constantino, 2002;Cuezzo & Cancello, 2009;Rocha et al, 2012), and by comparison with some specimens kept at the collection (CEFUD) that had been identified by Dr. Reginaldo Constantino. Nasutitermes and Heterotermes samples were reviewed by Dr. Tiago Fernandes Carrijo.…”

“…Samples of Apicotermitinae containing at least ten individuals were separated at the species and morphospecies levels by dissecting the enteric valve and comparing its morphology with that described in the literature (Bourguignon et al, 2010(Bourguignon et al, , 2013(Bourguignon et al, , 2016. Termite samples are kept in 2 ml vials containing 85% ethanol, in the Colección Entomològica Forestal (CEFUD) at Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas in Bogota D.C.…”

“…Termites were assigned to the feeding guilds described in the literature (Donovan et al, 2001) using available information for the genus/species (De Souza & Brown, 1994, Constantino, 1999, Bourguignon et al, 2016. Feeding guilds included xylophages (feed on wood), humivores (feed on humus and soil organic matter), intermediate feeders (feed at the soil/ wood interface and do not fit into the categories mentioned above; collected under decomposed fallen logs) and litter feeders (feed on plant material deposited on the surface of the forest floor, including grasses, leaf material, litter).…”

Echinotermes biriba, a new genus and species of soldierless termite from the Colombian and Peruvian Amazon (Termitidae, Apicotermitinae)

“…Fontes (1992) provided the first identification key for workers of these five genera. The descriptions of Longustitermes (Bourguignon et al 2010), Compositermes (Scheffrahn 2013), Amplucrutermes , Humutermes , Hydrecotermes , Patawatermes , and Rubeotermes (Bourguignon et al 2016), and Disjunctitermes (Scheffrahn et al 2017) have advanced the classification of neotropical soldierless taxa but many more remain to be described.…”

“…Currently, 13 genera and 52 species of Apicotermitinae are known from the Neotropical region (Bourguignon et al 2010; Krishna et al 2013; Scheffrahn 2013; Carrijo et al 2015; Bourguignon et al 2016; Scheffrahn et al 2017). For Colombia, Anoplotermes ater , Anoplotermes parvus , Aparatermes silvestrii , Humutermes krishnai , and Patawatermes turricola have been reported (Araujo 1977; Constantino 1998; Bourguignon et al 2016; Pinzón et al 2017), and Peru records include Anoplotermes banksi , Anoplotermes pacificus , Disjunctitermes insularis , Rubeotermes jheringi , and Ruptitermes reconditus (Constantino 1998, Bourguignon et al 2010, Acioli and Constantino 2015, Bourguignon et al 2016, Scheffrahn et al 2017).…”