Mirocertermes shahroudiensis, Ghayourfar, 2005

Ghayourfar, Rahim, 2005, A new termite species from Iran, Microcerotermes shahroudiensis sp. nov. (Isoptera: Termitidae), Zootaxa 1012 (1), pp. 39-44 : 40-43

Mirocertermes shahroudiensis sp. nov.

( Fig. 1 )

Description. Soldier. ( Table 1). Head pale brown, somewhat darker anteriorly; antennae yellowish brown; pronotum paler than head­capsule; mesonotum, metanotum, legs and abdomen yellow. Labrum broadly tongue­shaped, with a few long hairs near the tip and on its body.

Head­capsule subrectangular, longer than broad, about 1.25 times as long as width, length to the side base of mandible 1.25 mm, lateral sides parallel, a little convergent anteriorly. Fontanell indistinct. Eye­spots present, pale brown. Antennae 13­segmented, segment 3 the shortest, 4 onwards increasing in length, last segment (13 th) slender and much longer than penultimate. Postclypeus distinct, demarcated from frons. Anteclypeus apilose, hyaline, whitish, thin and narrow. Mandible long, subequal of head to the side base of mandibles, length 1.20–1.25 mm, fairly straight of outer margins, inner margins finely ser­ rated, apex weakly incurved. Postmentum subrectangular, with an impercible incurving below middle, sides converging to anterior margin from widest portion. Pronotum saddleshaped, with a very indistinct notch at anterior and posterior margins. Mesonotum wider than pronotum; metanotum wider than mesonotum. Legs long and hairy, middle­legs the shortest, hind­legs the longest; fore­tibiae slightly swollen, apical tibial spurs 3: 2: 2; tarsi 4­jointed.

Worker. ( Table 2). Head­capsule yellowish, subcircular, wider than its length to mandible base, sides converging posteriorly, posterior margin round. Thorax, abdomen and legs pale yellow. Head and body fairly pilose.Antennae 13­segmented, segment 3 the shortest. Postclypeus swollen, a little wider than length, divided into two parts by a median vertical line. Anteclypeus hyaline, trapezoidal, with a medial tip on anterior margin. Labrum broadly tongue­shaped, pilose. Mandible typical for the genus. Legs long, apical tibial spurs 3:2:2, tarsi 4­jointed.

S. D.= Standard deviation

Material examined. Holotype, 1 soldier and 1 worker, Iran, Semnan province, Shahroud, Ghaderabad , 29.ix.1997, ( R. Ghayourfar) (HMIM). Paratypes, 3 soldiers and 16 workers, Iran, same data as holotype (HMIM) .

Etymology. Named after its type locality, Shahroud.

Comments. This species, especially soldiers, comes closest to M. varaminicus Ghayourfar , but differ from it in possessing darker head­capsule and distinct postclypeus demarcated from frons. Furthermore, it could be separated from the other Microcerotermes species distributed in Iran using the morphometric measurements presented in Table 3.

M= Length of left mandible, L= Length of head to side base of mandible, W= Max. width of head, L/M= Length of head to side base of mandible to length of left mandible, L/W= Length of head to side base of mandible to max. width of head.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Microcerotermes shahroudiensis sp. nov. A–B. Head, C. Mandible, D. Antenna, E. Postmentum.