Corresponding author: Robin Casalla (
Academic editor: Eliana Cancello
Casalla R, Scheffrahn RH, Korb J (2021)
Records of termites from Colombia have increased in recent years (
Type localities of
Comparison of head measurements (mm) and coloration of soldiers and imagoes of different
No. | Species | Distribution* | Soldier | Imago | Reference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head width | Mean | Head width | Mean | Head color | Pronotum color | ||||
1 | 1.12–1.22 | 1.17 | 1.10–1.20 | 1.15 | Dark castaneous | Pale yellow | This publication | ||
2 |
|
1.19–1.35 | 1.27 | 1.19 | 1.19 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
3 |
|
1.16–1.56 | 1.42 | 1.19–1.26 | 1.23 | Reddish |
|
||
4 |
|
1.38–1.48 | 1.43 | 1.25 | 1.25 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
5 |
|
1.24–1.88 | 1.54 | 1.21 | 1.21 | Black |
|
||
6 |
|
1.47–1.73 | 1.60 | 1.26 | 1.26 | Brown/Black |
|
||
7 |
|
1.44–1.72 | 1.60 |
|
|
Black | Yellow |
|
|
8 |
|
1.50–1.80 | 1.65 | 1.26–1.34 | 1.30 | Black |
|
||
9 |
|
1.65 | 1.65 | 1.60 | 1.60 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
10 |
|
1.52–1.90 | 1.72 | 1.31 | 1.31 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
11 |
|
1.80 | 1.80 | 1.60 | 1.60 | Yellow-brown | Yellow |
|
|
12 |
|
1.8–2.0 | 1.90 | 1.4 | 1.40 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
13 |
|
1.80–2.07 | 1.94 | 1.51 | 1.51 | Black | Yellow |
|
|
14 |
|
2.00 | 2.00 | 1.35 | 1.35 | Black | Brown |
|
|
15 |
|
1.83–2.43 | 2.06 | 1.5–2.00 | 1.68 | Black | |||
16 |
|
2.10 | 2.10 | 1.80 | 1.80 | Yellow-brown | Yellow |
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
|
|
Black | Yellow |
|
|
18 |
|
1.21 (1.7?) |
|
|
|
Black |
|
*
Soldier’s scale
Imago’s scale
Here, we describe the soldiers and imagoes of
In July 2014, a survey was done in the tropical dry forest of Colombia’s Caribbean coast (
We considered
We inferred a phylogenetic tree based on the maximum likelihood (
We calculated
Specimens were suspended in hand sanitizer and images were taken with a Leica M205 C stereomicroscope coupled to a Leica MC190 HD digital camera. Helicon Focus software was used to stack pictures. Measurements were done following
The soldier of
Measurements (mm) of
Character | Holotype | Measurements |
---|---|---|
Head length with mandibles | 2.81 | 2.81, 2.90 |
Head length to lateral base of mandibles | 1.87 | 1.87, 1.99 |
Head width max. | 1.12 | 1.12, 1.22 |
Head height with postmentum | 1.06 | 1.06, 1.20 |
Postmentum width min. | 0.22 | 0.22, 0.24 |
Postmentum length | 1.34 | 1.34, 1.38 |
Pronotum width | 1.27 | 1.27, 1.39 |
Pronotum length | 0.63 | 0.63, 0.70 |
Third antennal article length | 0.16 | 0.16, 0.17 |
Left mandible length (from dorsal condyle) | 1.17 | 1.17, 1.22 |
Frontal angle (° degrees) | 34 | 29, 34 |
The imago of
Measurements (mm) of
Character | Measurements |
---|---|
Eye diameter max. | 0.30, 032 |
Ocellus diameter max. | 0.09, 0.10 |
Head width (max. with eyes) | 1.10, 1.20 |
Head length to tip | 1.44, 1.49 |
Head height | 0.78, 0.87 |
Pronotum width max. | 1.25, 1.27 |
Pronotum length min. | 0.64, 0.70 |
“Los primates” Colosó, Sucre, Colombia (Fig.
‘Los Primates’ is located in the mountains of the municipality of Colosó, Sucre. It is a regional forest reserve created in 1983, containing primary and secondary tropical dry forest. The mean annual temperature is 26.7 °C (min: 25.8 °C; max: 27.8 °C) with an annual precipitation of around 1337 mm (INDERENA, 1983;
“Ursulae” derived from a diminutive of the Latin
The topology and splits inferred from the multiple sequence alignment of the
Maximum likelihood (
The
1 | Soldier with dark coloration of anterior head capsule. Anterolateral corners of frontal ridges project to form acute angles. Maximum soldier head width (mean) 1.72 mm; imago with a black head capsule; pronotum brownish orange, compound eye small, nearly circular. Ocellus very small; maximum head width (mean) 1.31 mm |
|
– | Soldier with light yellowish orange of anterior head capsule. Anterolateral corners poorly developed. Maximum soldier head width (mean) 1.17 mm; imago with a dark-castaneous head capsule; pronotum pale yellowish, compound eye large, nearly circular. Ocellus small, oval shape; head width (mean) 1.15 mm |
|
The Caribbean Region of Colombia is rich in
The phylogenetic relationships within the
Molecular markers often allow a clear separation between
Our study shows the importance of further surveys at isolated sites in the tropics as they continue to reveal many new species. This is also essential for phylogenetic studies to infer the evolutionary history of the
We thank the Universidad del Norte Barranquilla, Colombia, for a research grant to RC as part of its Strategic Research Area in Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Human Well-being, the University of Freiburg, 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). We thanks to John Warner for English editing, Karen Meusemann for phylogenetic analyses and discussions, and two reviewers and the editor for helpful comments and careful review of the manuscript.
Tables S1, S2
Sequence accession identifier and Measures of genetic distance
Figure S1
Multimedia: Photo
Biome for
Supplementary references
References