Cubitermes oculatus, Silvestri, 1914, Josens & Deligne, 2019

Josens, Guy & Deligne, Jean, 2019, Species groups in the genus Cubitermes (Isoptera: Termitidae) defined on the basis of enteric valve morphology, European Journal of Taxonomy 515, pp. 1-72 : 46-47

6. The oculatus valve pattern group

The workers within this pattern have basic enteric valves ( Fig. 17A ): all six primary cushions are similar in their arrangement but not in their sizes.

The primary cushions are roughly triangular: their largest width is generally located near their upstream end and their lateral margins converge gradually downstream until the bristly part, where they remain parallel ( Fig. 11B ). The enteric valve shows bilateral symmetry, PC1 being much longer and often wider than the other PCs (WVP1-Pre> 1.30) ( Fig. 17A ).

PC1 is made of (a) an upstream spiny part (40–66% of total length) with relatively strong spines, (b) a middle spiny part (10–27% of total length) with somewhat weaker spines and generally with 5–8 lateral supporting bristles on each side, and (c) a bristly part (22–38% of total length) with 30–50 straight, curved and eventually hooked bristles ( Fig. 11B ).

The secondary cushions, near their upstream end, are never wider than the primary cushions; however, in some cases, they widen in their downstream, bristly, fuzzy parts ( Figs 4G , 17A ). The secondary cushions SC12 and SC61 (on both sides of PC1) are often faint or may be totally lacking ( Fig. 17A ).

In the soldier’s enteric valve, the primary cushions are well outlined except at their upstream end; PC1 is much longer than the other primary cushions (SVP1-Pre> 1.25) and often substantially widened between the first upstream quarter and the middle ( Fig. 17B ). The secondary cushions are like those of workers but bear less developed spines.

This basic valve pattern is characterised by a long PC1 and therefore by high bilateral symmetry and PC1 pre-eminence indices in both soldiers and workers, and by the high elongation index of the workers’ SCs ( Table 5 ); most species are small.

Material examined

Two species have such enteric valves:

Figures

Fig. 17. A. Enteric valve of the “oculatus valve pattern” from a worker of Cubitermes sp.: note the narrowness of the secondary cushion, almost faint in the case of SC61 (SC12 is not figured); B. Idem from a soldier of the same sample of C. sp., note the widening of PC1; C. Geographical distribution of the species with the oculatus valve pattern.

Fig. 11. Representative primary cushions of the various patterns encountered in the workers of the genus Cubitermes; WVPD = downstream bristly part; WVPM = middle spiny part; WVPS = spatula; WVPU = upstream spiny part. A. PC1 of the bilobatus valve pattern. B. PC1 of the oculatus valve pattern. C. any odd PC of the bilobatodes valve pattern. D. PC1 of the muneris valve pattern. E. PC6 and PC1 of the fungifaber valve pattern. E’. PC3 of the fungifaber valve pattern, twisted and partly seen in profile. F. PC1 of the finitimus valve pattern. F’. PC3 of the finitimus valve pattern, twisted and seen in profile. G. PC3 of the sankurensis valve pattern. H and H’. PC3 and PC4 of the oblectatus valve pattern. I. Any PC of the sulcifrons valve pattern. I’. Any PC of the sulcifrons valve pattern, twisted and seen in profile. All drawings to the same scale.

Fig. 4. A. Enteric valve (of C. oblectatus Harris, 1958), seen in profile with simplified pilosity. In this species, the primary cushions PC3 and PC5 bear not only spatulae (sp) but also crests (cr) near the downstream end. B. Section through an enteric valve, seen from upstream. Sands’ numbering of the cushions is inside; present numbering of the primary (PC1 to PC6) and secondary (SC12 to SC61) cushions outside. C. Measurements on PC1: WVP1UL = length of the upstream spiny part (it starts at the first spine and ends at the first lateral supporting bristle); WVP1ML = length of the middle spiny part (it starts at the first lateral supporting bristle and ends at the last lateral supporting bristle); WVP1DL = length of the downstream bristly part (it starts at the last lateral supporting bristle); WVP1W = maximal width. D. Measurements on PC4 (one of the PCs with spatula in the sankurensis valve pattern): WVP4SL = length of the downstream spatula part (this is also the part that sticks out of the valve when in function). Other symbols as in figure C. E. Measurements on SC12 in the case of a wide and homogeneous cushion (in the muneris valve pattern). F. Measurements on SC12 in the case of a heterogeneous spearheadshaped cushion (in the bilobatodes valve pattern). G. Measurements on SC12 in the case of a narrow cushion that becomes wider and fuzzy in its downstream part (in the oculatus valve pattern); in E, F and G, WVS12L = length of the secondary cushion (between the most extreme spines or bristles), WVS12W = width of the secondary cushion (between the most extreme spines or bristles in its upstream third).