Corresponding author: Robin Casalla (
Academic editor: E. Cancello
After more than one hundred years, a new drywood termite of the genus
Casalla R, Scheffrahn RH, Korb J (2016)
Colombia’s diverse ecoregions harbour high termite diversity (
For more than a century, the genus
In this paper, a new species of
Three study sites in a tropical dry forest near Colombia’s Caribbean coast were selected and surveyed during July 2014 and August 2015 (Fig.
Sampling localities for
Morphometrics for cytochrome oxidase II
For the three different haplotypes of
Due to limited availability of mitochondrial gene sequences for National Center for Biotechnology Information
GenBank accession numbers for
Species | Accession |
GenBank Accession 12S | Accession 16S |
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Samples localites: = El Ceibal (Santa Catalina, Bolívar) = Los = Parque Tayrona (Santa Marta, Magdalena)
Specimens were suspended in Hand Sanitizer and images were taken with a Leica MC205 C stereomicroscope coupled to a Leica MC190 HD digital camera. The software Helicon Focus was used to stack pictures. Measurements were done following
Voucher specimens are held at the University of Freiburg, Germany. The holotype soldier and paratypes of Natural History Museum of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Bogotá
The
Imago (Figs
Morphometrical measurements for
No. | Measurements in mm (n = 10). | Mean | SD | Range |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Head length with labrum | 1.28 | 0.06 | 1.18–1.35 |
2 | Head length to postclypeus | 1.14 | 0.04 | 1.06–1.19 |
3 | Head width, maximum at eyes | 0.95 | 0.04 | 0.88–1.01 |
4 | Eye diameter, maximum | 0.30 | 0.02 | 0.26–0.31 |
5 | Eye to head base, minimum | 0.14 | 0.01 | 0.12–0.16 |
6 | Ocellus diameter | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.09–0.13 |
7 | Pronotum maximum width | 1.05 | 0.05 | 0.94–1.13 |
8 | Pronotum maximum length | 0.66 | 0.02 | 0.63–0.69 |
9 | Total length without wings | 5.45 | 0.33 | 5.04–5.87 |
10 | Total length with wings (n = 1) | 7.52 | - | - |
11 | Fore wing length to suture (n = 1) | 5.24 | - | - |
12 | Fore wing maximum width (n = 1) | 1.63 | - | - |
13 | No. antennal articulations | 9 | 2.4 | 7–15 |
Soldier heads of
Morphometrical measurements for
No. | Measurements in mm (n = 11). | Mean | SD | Range |
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1 | Head length to tip of mandibles | 2.75 | 0.11 | 2.50–2.95 |
2 | Head length to frontal horns | 1.72 | 0.10 | 1.54–1.90 |
3 | Frontal flange width | 1.03 | 0.04 | 0.92–1.08 |
4 | Genal horns outside span | 1.12 | 0.05 | 1.02–1.19 |
5 | Head width max. | 1.23 | 0.06 | 1.14–1.32 |
6 | Head height excluding postmentum | 0.99 | 0.06 | 0.85–1.08 |
7 | Pronotum max. width | 1.19 | 0.07 | 1.05–1.27 |
8 | Pronotum max. length | 0.82 | 0.05 | 0.73–0.87 |
9 | Left mandible length, tip to ventral condyle (n = 1) | 1.10 | - | - |
10 | Total length | 6.57 | 0.44 | 5.43–6.98 |
11 | No. antennal articulations | 11 | 0.7 | 10–12 |
The Bayesian Posterior Probability Barcode of Life Data Systems
Bayesian inference tree, inferred with MRBAYES from
Nucleotide distances for combined analysis of
No. | Species (n = number of sequenced specimens) | Localities |
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1 |
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0.002 | 0.004 | ||
2 |
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0.004 | 0.004 | ||
3 |
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0.024 | 0.025 |
Samples localites: = El Ceibal (Santa Catalina, Bolívar) = Los = Parque Tayrona (Santa Marta, Magdalena)
Nucleotide distances for
No. | Specie | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
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1 | 0.003 | 0.008 | 0.015 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.022 | ||
2 | 0.007 | 0.008 | 0.015 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.022 | ||
3 | 0.040 | 0.044 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.021 | ||
4 |
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0.153 | 0.157 | 0.164 | 0.016 | 0.015 | 0.017 | 0.015 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.020 | |
5 |
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0.176 | 0.176 | 0.174 | 0.159 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.015 | 0.016 | 0.016 | 0.019 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.021 | |
6 |
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0.184 | 0.179 | 0.177 | 0.165 | 0.157 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.022 | |
7 |
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0.175 | 0.179 | 0.172 | 0.188 | 0.205 | 0.191 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.019 | 0.018 | 0.023 | |
8 |
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0.182 | 0.185 | 0.189 | 0.160 | 0.166 | 0.176 | 0.189 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.016 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.016 | 0.022 | |
9 |
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0.185 | 0.186 | 0.188 | 0.192 | 0.183 | 0.192 | 0.200 | 0.188 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.022 | |
10 |
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0.187 | 0.187 | 0.197 | 0.185 | 0.184 | 0.197 | 0.214 | 0.196 | 0.200 | 0.018 | 0.017 | 0.018 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.022 | |
11 |
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0.186 | 0.189 | 0.186 | 0.182 | 0.213 | 0.202 | 0.190 | 0.187 | 0.211 | 0.224 | 0.018 | 0.016 | 0.018 | 0.018 | 0.023 | |
12 |
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0.196 | 0.192 | 0.209 | 0.176 | 0.175 | 0.181 | 0.212 | 0.189 | 0.202 | 0.191 | 0.215 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.017 | 0.022 | |
13 |
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0.199 | 0.199 | 0.189 | 0.194 | 0.176 | 0.187 | 0.189 | 0.194 | 0.202 | 0.219 | 0.160 | 0.204 | 0.018 | 0.019 | 0.022 | |
14 |
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0.206 | 0.209 | 0.196 | 0.199 | 0.213 | 0.192 | 0.214 | 0.194 | 0.203 | 0.169 | 0.212 | 0.199 | 0.218 | 0.017 | 0.023 | |
15 | 0.209 | 0.211 | 0.211 | 0.193 | 0.185 | 0.196 | 0.231 | 0.185 | 0.221 | 0.230 | 0.219 | 0.211 | 0.225 | 0.216 | 0.021 | ||
16 |
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0.282 | 0.282 | 0.279 | 0.254 | 0.255 | 0.281 | 0.291 | 0.261 | 0.266 | 0.267 | 0.280 | 0.266 | 0.279 | 0.290 | 0.257 |
Samples localites: = El Ceibal (Santa Catalina, Bolívar) = Los = Parque Tayrona (Santa Marta, Magdalena)
Holotype colony:
(Fig.
Morphometrical measurements for soldiers of
No. | Measurements in mm (n = 11). | Mean | SD | Range |
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1 | Head length to tip of mandibles | 2.96 | 0.19 | 2.65–3.35 |
2 | Head length to frontal horns | 1.82 | 0.31 | 1.10–2.25 |
3 | Frontal flange width | 1.06 | 0.12 | 0.90–1.25 |
4 | Genal horns, outside span | 1.33 | 0.12 | 1.20–1.55 |
5 | Head width max. | 1.46 | 0.12 | 1.15–1.60 |
6 | Head height excluding postmentum | 1.17 | 0.14 | 1.00–1.50 |
7 | Pronotum max. width | 1.49 | 0.12 | 1.20–1.65 |
8 | Pronotum max. length | 0.82 | 0.09 | 0.70–0.95 |
9 | Left mandible length, tip to ventral condyle | 1.06 | 0.03 | 1.00–1.10 |
10 | Total length | 7.38 | 0.61 | 6.80–8.80 |
11 | No. antennal articulations | 11 | 0.7 | 10–12 |
Head subsquare with sides slightly convergent, posteriorly and rounded to vertex. Frontal area wide and long, occupies ca 2/5 of head length to postclypeus; narrowly depressed in center, and laterally view with faintly convex and few undulations, sloping angle ca. 50° near to postclypeus. Labrum short and sub-squared. Antennal socket protruded with third antennal segment longer and sclerotized, formula 2<3>4=5=6 and 11 articulations. Postmentum very broad in front. Pronotum as broad as head with anterior emarginated. Mandibles strong and curved inward ca. 45-50°. Measurements are reported in Table
Soldiers of
Morphometrical measurements for soldiers of
No. | Measurements in mm (n = 10). | Mean | SD | Range |
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1 | Head length to tip of mandibles | 3.36 | 0.23 | 3.05–3.80 |
2 | Head length to frontal horns | 2.23 | 0.09 | 2.10–2.35 |
3 | Frontal flange width | 0.93 | 0.11 | 0.75–1.10 |
4 | Genal horns outside span | 1.41 | 0.11 | 1.20–1.60 |
5 | Head width max. | 1.52 | 0.09 | 1.30–1.65 |
6 | Head height excluding postmentum | 1.24 | 0.08 | 1.10–1.40 |
7 | Pronotum max. width | 1.46 | 0.13 | 1.20–1.55 |
8 | Pronotum max. length | 0.90 | 0.08 | 0.80–1.00 |
9 | Left mandible length, tip to ventral condyle | 1.28 | 0.08 | 1.15–1.40 |
10 | Total length | 7.88 | 0.60 | 7.00–8.80 |
11 | No. antennal articulations | 12 | 0.9 | 11–14 |
Soldiers with head robust, dark coloration in frons, nearly black, grading from ferruginous orange to orange-yellow toward vertex. Frons sloping between 43–50° to postclypeus, without a ridge and vestigial rugosity. Mandibles bended upwards, with a strong dentition and left mandible bigger than right. Mandibular humps pronounced. Eyes spot unpigmented. Third antennal article larger than second and fourth and sclerotized. Pronotum almost as broad as head width. Femur tick, short and strong. Tibal spurs 3:3:3.
Based on our measurements and morphological description, we developed an identification key for the three
1 | Smaller species; maximum head width 1.14–1.32 mm (mean 1.23 SD 0.06 mm). Lateral margins of the genal horns angle outward from the sides of the head capsule (Fig. |
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– | Larger species; maximum head width1.15-1.65 mm (mean 1.49 SD 0.11 mm); lateral margins of the genal horns remain in line with the head capsule (Figs |
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2 | In lateral view; frons forms even curve below vertex and mandibles (Fig. |
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– | In lateral view; frons forms rather straight angle from vertex to mandibles (Fig. |
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The phylogenetic relationships within the
Using a single mitochondrial marker (
We thank Universidad del Norte Barranquilla, Colombia, for a research grant to R.C. as part of the Strategic Research Area in Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being Program, as well as the University of Freiburg, Germany, and COLCIENCIAS-Colfuturo for financial support. We are also grateful to the National Agency of Environmental Licenses for research permit no. 739/ANLA/MADS (8 July 2014) and the Natural Parks Unit research permit 005/PNNC/ANLA/MADS (10 July 2015). Thanks to Miss Sandra Cabarcas for hospitality and the possibility to access the homestead “El Ceibal”, to the field assistants Luis Fernando Lopez and Saudy Royero. Thanks to Karen Meusemann for comments on the text and all those who indirectly helped in conducting this work and the two referees for their constructive comments on the manuscript.
Macrophotography of
Dry pellets of
Size of pellet of
Pellet | Length (mm) |
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1 | 0.92 |
2 | 0.86 |
3 | 0.92 |
4 | 0.91 |
5 | 0.96 |
6 | 0.96 |
7 | 0.91 |
8 | 0.97 |
9 | 0.95 |
10 | 0.87 |
11 | 0.9 |
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