Cryptotermes colombianus, Casalla, Robin, Scheffrahn, Rudolf & Korb, Judith, 2016

Casalla, Robin, Scheffrahn, Rudolf & Korb, Judith, 2016, Cryptotermescolombianus a new drywood termite and distribution record of Cryptotermes in Colombia, ZooKeys 596, pp. 39-52 : 41-44

Taxon classification Animalia Isoptera Kalotermitidae

Cryptotermes colombianus sp. n. Fig. 1

Description.

Dealated (Fig. 1 A–B). General color brown. Frons pale brown, vertex brown. Pronotum and abdominal tergites brown. Antennae pale brown. Labrum pale brown. Femora brown, tibiae pale brown. Abdominal sternites pale brown and very pale brown laterally. Head suboval; cranial sutures fine, but distinct. Eyes moderately large, non-protruding, and oval. Ocelli moderately large, oval, and touching eyes. Antenna with 6 and 8 articles but incomplete, with formulae 2>3<4=5=6. Pronotum wider than long, usually with distinctive midline mark. Arolia present. Measurements are reported in Table 2.

Soldier. (Fig. 1 C–F). Head in dorsal view with frontal flange and front horns very dark; 3/4 of anterior vertex almost black chestnut, grading to chestnut brown; posterior it turns ferruginous orange to pale yellow (Figure 1C). Head in lateral view with anterodorsal region almost black, which grades steeply to chestnut brown then to pale yellow under eye spot and occipital foramen (Figure 1D). Mandibles chestnut brown. Anterior margin of pronotum chestnut brown posterior margin pale yellow (Fig. 1 E–F).

Head in dorsal view abruptly truncated in front; frontal flange forming a rim surrounding a few undulations on frons. Head widest behind flange, gradually narrowing toward the occiput (Figure 1C). Frontal flange coalesces with frontal horn and postclypeus to form pentagonal rim occupying the entire frontal view. In lateral view, margin of frons and occiput from acute ca. 60 degree angle (Fig. 1 D–E). Vertex widely striated with several robust undulations; frontal horns very broad and shallow; genal horns reduced to tiny protrusions anterior to antennal sockets. Mandibles short humped and slightly bended forward, right mandible tip under tip of left mandible, tips are under labrum in frontal view. Labrum short, hyaline and tongue-shaped. Anteclypeus white; postclypeus trapezoidal with undulating rugosity. Eye spots large, narrowly elliptical. Antenna moniliform between 10 and 12 articles, formula variable 2> 3 = 4 = 5 <6. Legs with three apical spurs on each tibia, formula 3:3:3. Pronotum slightly incised in front, slightly narrower than head capsule. Measurements are reported in Table 4.

Genetic characterization.

Thirteen COII mtDNA sequences were aligned for Cryptotermes species using Blatta orientalis as an outgroup. Information from NCBI is largely limited to COII (see Suppl. material 1), hence we could not include comparative analysis for nuclear and mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes. Note, COII is very informative to identify termite species ( Hausberger et al. 2011).

The COII tree topology for Cryptotermes revealed two major clusters, one group composed of eastern Australian species (53% bootstrap value) and the other comprising clusters of Northwest Australian-Papuan (98% bootstrap value), Ethiopian-Oriental (65% bootstrap value) and Neotropical species (100% bootstrap value) (Figure 2). Cryptotermes colombianus is located on a separate basal branch within the Ethiopian–Oriental cluster. Based on additional sequence comparisons, its closest relative among the studied species is Cryptotermes havilandi (p-distance = 0.148) (Table 3).

Phylogeny and phylogeography of the Cryptotermes is debated ( Chhotani 1970, Gay and Watson 1982, Bacchus 1987, Thompson et al. 2000, Scheffrahn and Křeček 2009). Bourguignon et al. (2014) proposed that Kalotermitidae evolved at the cusp of Gondwana dissolution with Cryptotermes originating after the separation of land masses. The current distribution of Cryptotermes species can be explained with transo ceanic dispersal via drift wood ( Scheffrahn et al. 2009, Bourguignon et al. 2016) and more recently through human introductions during colonization and trade ( Li et al. 2009, Scheffrahn et al. 2009, Evans 2011). The geographic pattern on the phylogeny with regional specific clades may also indicative for some continent specific radiations. The origin of Cryptotermes colombianus is unclear, it may have arrived in Colombia via infested drift wood. Data presented here are not conclusive. More genetic analyses, including different populations, are needed to reveal the origin of Cryptotermes colombianus and track the evolutionary history and dispersal of Cryptotermes species.

Material examined.

Type-locality: Colombia, Magdalena: Santa Marta, Tayrona National Park, Gayraca Bay, 11°18.84'N; 74°6.34'W, tropical dry forest, 23 June 2015.

Holotype-colony: Colombia. Magdalena Santa Marta Tayrona National Park, Gayraca Bay, 23.VI.2015 (collected by R. Casalla) in a piece of dry wood on soil, at elevation of 12 m a.s.l (11°18.84'N; 74°6.34'W), sample COLPT1LII-56: 2 soldiers, 1 dealated, 23 pseudergates; 3 for DNA isolation. Holotype: Soldier from the previous sample (COLPT1LII-56), it will be deposited at the Arthropod Collection of the Natural History Museum of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Bogotá, Colombia (MIAvH). Paratypes from sample COLPT1LII-56: 1 soldier, 1 reproductive dealate. Paratypes will be deposited as follows: 1 soldier will be deposited at the American Museum of Natural History New York, United States, 1 dealated at MIAvH. Pseudergates will be part of the collection of the Department of Chemistry and Biology at the University del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia. All measurements for dealated reproductive, holotype and paratype soldiers are reported in Tables 2, 4.

Diagnosis.

The diminutive frontal and genal horns and the truncated frons and converging genal margins of the head capsule (in dorsal view) distinguish the Cryptotermes colombianus soldier from all other Neotropical congeners.

Etymology.

Named for its country of origin, Colombia.