A taxonomic revision of the neotropical termite genus Diversitermes (Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae)
Author
Oliveira, Danilo Elias
Author
Constantino, Reginaldo
text
Zootaxa
2016
4158
2
221
245
journal article
38305
10.11646/zootaxa.4158.2.5
9363b820-26e8-46b8-8461-3e2db50a69b8
1175-5326
264259
3FCFD824-EB38-4CC4-93A0-16045C271436
Diversitermes castaniceps
(
Holmgren 1910
)
Eutermes
(
Constrictotermes
)
castaniceps
Holmgren 1910
: 306
[imago, soldier, worker].
Eutermes
(
Diversitermes
)
castaniceps
:
Holmgren 1912
: 64
Nasutitermes
(
Diversitermes
)
castaniceps
:
Hare 1931
: 598
Diversitermes castaniceps
:
Snyder 1949
: 306
[catalog, part]
Diversitermes castaneiceps
:
Araujo 1977
: 39
[misspelling]
Diversitermes castaniceps
:
Krishna
et al
. 2013
: 1569
[catalog, part]
Diversitermes eidmanni
Roonwal
et al.
1981
: 348
[wing microsculpturing].
New synonym
Imago
(
Figs. 1
A–1D, 2A, 2D, 3A, 3D). Head capsule brown, paler near postclypeus, eyes and antennal sockets. Postclypeus yellow brown; midline darker. Labrum yellowish, hyaline. Frontal marks inconspicuous. Ecdysial line (epicranial suture) inconspicuous. Antenna yellow brown. Thoracic nota. Legs and pleural sclerites yellow. Tergites yellow brown. Sternites paler. Wings brownish, hyaline; anterior veins darker. Head capsule densely covered with short inclined hairs and 6–10 short bristles. Postclypeus with numerous hairs, less dense than on head capsule. Labrum with about 10 bristles and many short hairs. Pronotum densely covered with hairs, more numerous near margins. Tergites and sternites densely covered with long hairs. Wings with short hairs on surface; anterior margin with longer hairs. Head capsule oval, with slightly angular posterior corners. Fontanelle spot conspicuous, Y-shaped. Eye nearly circular, medium-sized, distance to lower margin of head about 1/6 its diameter. Ocelli oval, large and prominent, separated from eye by about half their width. Postclypeus inflated; anterior margin nearly straight; posterior margin convex. Pronotum with anterior margin nearly straight, slightly emarginate; sides convex converging posteriorly. Posterior margin of meso- and metanotum broadly V-shaped; posterior points roughly rounded, irregular. Wing microsculpturing: margins and veins with pointed papillae; membrane covered with dense asteroid micrasters (6–8 points). Antenna with 15 articles: 3>6>5=4=2. Measurements in
Table 1
.
Major soldier
(
Fig. 4
A–C). Head capsule brownish yellow; nasus darker. Antennae, thoracic nota and legs yellow. Tergites yellowish, paler than thoracic nota. Sternites paler than tergites. Head capsule with 2 bristles on vertex and 4 at base of nasus, and numerous microscopic hairs. Nasus densely covered with very short inclined hairs, and 4 longer ones at tip; hairs become longer toward apex. Pronotum with 0–2 bristles on anterior margin. Meso- and metanotum without bristles. Thoracic nota covered with dense microscopic hairs. Tergites with 4–6 long bristles on posterior margin; surface with dense, inclined, microscopic hairs. Sternites with a row of long bristles on posterior margin; surface with dense inclined hairs of variable length. Head capsule pear-shaped, with strongly convex sides. Nasus short, narrow and subcylindrical. Line between vertex and nasus concave in profile. Pronotum with anterior margin convex, slightly emarginate. Antenna with 13 articles: 3>2>6>5>4; 3rd article about as long as 1st and about twice as long as second. Measurements in
Table 2
.
TABLE 1.
Measurements of imagoes of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. diversimiles
|
D. castaniceps
|
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
0.88–0.96 |
0.86–0.92 |
0.90–1.00 |
Length of posterior tibia |
1.54–1.78 |
1.54–1.64 |
1.54–1.74 |
Maximum width of head |
1.18–1.28 |
1.16–1.24 |
1.16–1.28 |
Width of pronotum |
1.06–1.14 |
1.04–1.13 |
0.86–1.18 |
Diameter of eye |
0.34–0.38 |
0.32–0.38 |
0.30–0.38 |
n |
1 0 |
1 5 |
1 9 |
TABLE 2.
Measurements of major soldiers of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. castaniceps
|
D. diversimiles
|
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
1.74–1.96 |
1.70–2.24 |
1.76–2.22 |
Length of nasus |
0.54–0.64 |
0.47–0.78 |
0.56–0.82 |
Length of posterior tibia |
1.06–1.16 |
1.00–1.34 |
0.96–1.16 |
Maximum width of head |
1.00–1.16 |
0.92–1.32 |
0.90–1.22 |
Width of head behind antennae |
0.65–0.74 |
0.64–0.92 |
0.66–0.78 |
Width of pronotum |
0.44–0.54 |
0.48–0.78 |
0.48–0.56 |
n |
2 0 |
3 8 |
2 1 |
Intermediate soldier
(
Fig. 5
A–C). Coloration, chaetotaxy and antennae similar to those of major soldier; head capsule lighter colored. Smaller and with sides of head nearly parallel; a slight constriction present behind antennae. Nasus shorter, slightly upturned and dilated near apex. Measurements in
Table 3
.
Minor soldier
(
Fig. 6
A–C). Coloration lighter than in intermediate and major soldiers. Head capsule wider posteriorly; with distinct constriction behind antennae. Head in profile with a convex elevation between constriction and nasus. Nasus upturned, dilated near apex and with fewer hairs than in intermediate and major soldiers. Antennal articles: 6>5=3>2>4; articles 6–13 about the same length. Measurements in
Table 4
.
TABLE 3.
Measurements of intermediate soldiers of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. castaniceps
|
D. diversimiles
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
1.38–1.54 |
1.26–1.46 1.24–1.54 |
Length of nasus |
0.36–0.47 |
0.33–0.60 0.36–0.52 |
Length of posterior tibia |
1.04–1.14 |
0.98–1.16 0.92–1.15 |
Maximum width of head |
0.72–0.81 |
0.64–0.76 0.58–0.68 |
Width of head behind antennae |
0.63–0.68 |
0.56–0.63 0.55–0.63 |
Width of pronotum |
0.49–0.53 |
0.43–0.54 0.42–0.59 |
n |
8 |
1 8 1 1 |
TABLE 4.
Measurements of minor soldiers of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. castaniceps
|
D. diversimiles
|
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
1.14–1.28 |
1.10–1.40 |
1.10–1.46 |
Length of nasus |
0.36–0.46 |
0.40–0.54 |
0.38–0.60 |
Length of posterior tibia |
0.84–0.98 |
0.79–1.10 |
0.74–1.06 |
Maximum width of head |
0.52–0.59 |
0.42–0.64 |
0.44–0.62 |
Width of head behind antennae |
0.42–0.48 |
0.40–0.51 |
0.42–0.84 |
Width of pronotum |
0.32–0.39 |
0.32–0.40 |
0.30–0.38 |
n |
2 0 |
3 5 |
2 2 |
Worker
(
Figs. 8
A–B; 9A–C; 10; 13C). Head capsule yellow to brownish yellow. Epicranial suture and fontanelle spot conspicuous. Antennae with basal articles unpigmented, becoming yellow towards apex. Thoracic nota, tergites and sternites yellowish. Legs unpigmented. Head capsule with a few scattered bristles and many microscopic hairs. Pronotum with 2–6 bristles on anterior lobe and sparse short hairs. Meso- and metanota with microscopic hairs, without bristles. Tergites and sternites with a row of bristles on posterior margin and many short, inclined hairs on surface; hairs and bristles longer on sternite. Antenna with 14 articles. Measurement in
Tables 5
and
6
.
TABLE 5.
Measurements of major workers with narrow gap of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. castaniceps
D. diversimiles
|
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
0.74–0.94 0.84–0.98 |
0.80–0.95 |
Length of posterior tibia |
0.80–1.00 0.88–1.06 |
0.86–1.06 |
Maximum width of head |
0.83–1.08 0.94–1.12 |
0.92–1.08 |
Width of pronotum |
0.44–0.56 0.46–0.56 |
0.44–0.59 |
n |
2 0 2 7 |
2 1 |
TABLE 6.
Measurements of major workers with wide gap of
Diversitermes
(mm).
Measurement |
D. castaniceps
D. diversimiles
|
D. tiapuan
|
Length of head |
0.84–0.94 0.82–0.94 |
0.77–0.92 |
Length of posterior tibia |
1.00–1.10 0.98–1.18 |
0.77–1.12 |
Maximum width of head |
0.98–1.07 0.97–1.10 |
0.88–1.02 |
Width of pronotum |
0.60–0.66 0.56–0.68 |
0.40–0.60 |
n |
1 0 1 0 |
1 3 |
Comparisons
. See comparisons under
D. tiapuan
,
sp. n.
Distribution
.
Diversitermes castaniceps
occurs only in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest between latitudes 19°S and 28°S (
Fig. 12
).
Remarks
. The case of
Diversitermes eidmanni
is similar to that of
D. needhami
.
Roonwal
et al.
(1981)
described the wing micro-sculpturing of specimens donated by A.E. Emerson, labeled as “paratypes” of
Diversitermes eidmanni
, a manuscript name.
Roonwal
et al.
(1981)
did not designate types, just mention the locality: “South America, Sao Vicente (Porchal Island, Sao Paulo, Brazil)” [sic] (Brazil, State of São Paulo, São Vicente, Ilha Porchat, lat 23.97°S long 46.37°W). The examination of specimens from the same series (AMNH, collected by R.L. Araujo in 1945) reveals that they belong to
D. castaniceps
.
Type
material examined
.
BRAZIL
:
Santa Catarina
,
Blumenau
(
26.919°S
,
49.066°W
), no date,
Fr. Müller
col., soldiers, workers, imagoes (
AMNH
,
syntypes
)
.
Other
syntypes
from the same series are in the Museum für
Naturkunde an der Universität Humbolt
,
Berlin
,
Germany
(not examined).
FIGURE 8.
Head of major workers in profile (top) and from dorsal view (bottom). A–B,
Diversitermes castaniceps
. C–D,
Diversitermes diversimiles
. E–F,
Diversitermes tiapuan
,
sp. n.
All figures in the same scale.
Other
material examined.
BRAZIL
:
Espírito Santo
:
Presidente Kennedy
,
Praia das Neves
(
21.28°S
,
40.97°W
)
,
28.iv.1998
, R. Constantino col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0419). Santa Teresa (19.936°S, 40.6°W),
25.v.1954
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-4140).
Sooretama
,
Rebio Sooretama
(
19.192°S
,
40.092°W
),
10.iv.2001
, unknown col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
13275
)
;
26.vii.2001
, L.C. col., soldiers (MZSP-12454);
26.vii.2001
, L.C. col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12455);
26.vii.2001
, L.C.M. Oliveira col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12449, 12450, 12451, 12452);
31.vii.2001
, L.C.M. Oliveira col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12453).
Minas Gerais
:
Belo Horizonte
(
19.92°S
,
43.93°W
),
14.x.1956
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
4475
)
.
Viçosa
(
20.75°S
,
42.88°W
),
01.ix.2005
,
O.F.F. Souza
col., soldiers (UFV)
;
03.xii.1994
, M. Fadini col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0618, 0620);
07.ii.2000
, D.S.S.L. Amaral col., soldiers, workers (UFV);
07.ii.2000
, Danilo col., soldiers, workers (UFV);
07.ii.2000
, Romero col., soldiers, workers (UFV);
07.ii.2000
, T.S. col., soldiers, workers (MZSP- 13280);
08.ii.1995
, M. Fadini col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0623);
09.ii.1995
, M. Fadini col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0625);
10.xii.1994
, M. Fadini col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0621);
12.xi.1994
, M. Fadini col., soldiers, workers (UnB-0607);
27.ii.2000
, C. Fanton col., soldiers, workers (UFV).
Paraná
:
Morretes
(
25.477°S
,
48.834°W
),
02.iii.2002
,
A.M.
Z. col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
12433
)
;
26.ii.2002
, L.C. col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12435).
Rio de Janeiro
:
Angra dos Reis
,
Ilha
Grande (
23.15°S
,
44.233°W
),
06.iv.1944
,
H. Muth
&
H. Sick
col., soldiers, workers (
AMNH
)
;
23.v.1944
, H. Muth & H. Sick col., soldiers, workers (AMNH);
29.vi.1944
, H. Muth & H. Sick col., soldiers, workers (AMNH);
30.iv.2001
, R. Constantino col., soldiers, workers (UnB-2872). Itatiaia (22.496°S, 44.563°W),
18.x.1933
, H.A. Eidmann col., soldiers, workers (AMNH);
24.ix.1947
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
3060
).
Mangaratiba
,
Ilha
da Marambaia (
23.067°S
,
43.967°W
)
,
26.v.2003
, R. Constantino col., soldiers, workers (UnB-5569, 5572, 5578, 5582, 5584). Mendes (22.527°S, 43.733°W),
15.ix.1933
, H.A. Eidmann col., soldiers, imagoes (AMNH);
15.ix.1933
, H.A. Eidmann col., soldiers, workers, imagoes (AMNH).
Rio de Janeiro
(
22.9°S
,
43.23°W
),
19.viii.1962
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
0063
)
;
30.ix.1962
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-0276).
Santa Catarina
:
Barra Velha
(
26.632°S
,
48.685°W
),
15.i.2014
,
R. Constantino
col., soldiers, workers (UnB-10232).
Blumenau
,
08.vi.1922
, A. Reichensperger col., soldiers, workers (AMNH);
22.xii.1972
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers, workers, imagoes (MZSP- 5209);
26.ii.1968
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers (MZSP-7840).
Florianópolis
(
27.58°S
,
48.57°W
), 1998,
C.R.F. Brandão
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
13279
)
.
Pomerode
(
26.741°S
,
49.177°W
),
27.xii.1972
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
5216
)
.
São Paulo
:
Cananéia
,
Ilha
do Cardoso (
25.133°S
,
47.967°W
),
25.xi.2002
,
L.C.
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
12436
)
;
27.xi.2002
, L.C. col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12434);
29.xi.2002
, unknown col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12437).
Guarujá
(24.S,
46.267°W
),
20.x.1950
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers, imagoes (
AMNH
,
BMNH-
133982
)
.
Ilhabela
,
Ilha
dos Búzios (
23.8°S
,
45.133°W
),
02.iv.1964
,
K. Lenko
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
1898
)
.
Itanhaém
(
24.183°S
,
46.789°W
),
08.i.1979
,
L.R. Fontes
&
S.A. Marques
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
7629
)
;
09.iv.1980
, E.M. Cancello col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-8036);
16.vi.1979
, L.R. Fontes & P.S. Terra col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-7847);
26.iii.1979
, L.R. Fontes & P.S. Terra col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-7829);
29.vii.1978
, L.R. Fontes & S.A. Marques col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-7722, 7725).
Santos
(
23.961°S
,
46.334°W
),
vii.1958
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
1926
)
.
São Sebastião
(
23.833°S
,
45.3°W
),
20.vii.1999
,
E.M. Cancello
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
10849
)
.
São Vicente, Ilha
Porchat (
23.983°S
,
46.367°W
),
18.ix.1945
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers (
AMNH
)
;
20.ix.1945
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers, workers (AMNH).
São Vicente
(
23.963°S
,
46.392°W
),
18.ix.1945
,
R.L. Araujo
col., soldiers, workers, imagoes (
MZSP-
2892
)
;
20.ix.1945
, R.L. Araujo col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-2902).
Tapiraí
(
23.964°S
,
47.507°W
),
08.i.2001
,
R.R. Silva
&
Ebehardt
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
11196
)
.
Ubatuba
,
Picinguaba
(
23.367°S
,
44.833°W
),
04.x.2000
,
L.C.
col., soldiers, workers (
MZSP-
12456, 12458
)
;
19.x.2000
, L.C. col., soldiers, workers (MZSP-12457, 12459).