Rhynchotermes matraga, Constantini, Joice P. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2016

Constantini, Joice P. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2016, A taxonomic revision of the Neotropical termite genus Rhynchotermes (Isoptera, Termitidae, Syntermitinae), Zootaxa 4109 (5), pp. 501-522 : 510

Rhynchotermes matraga , sp. nov.

Holotype. Soldier, 17–27.iv.2011, R.R. Silva & E.Z. Albuquerque cols., part of sample MZUSP 16130.

Type-repository: MZUSP.

Type-locality. BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Conceição do Mato Dentro, Serra da Serpentina., lat 19.0502S, long 43.3635W.

Paratypes. BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Conceição do Mato Dentro, Serra da Serpentina, lat 19.0502S, long 43.3635W, 17–27.iv.2011, R. R. Silva & E. Z. Albuquerque cols., MZUSP 16125 (4 soldiers, 5 workers), 16130 (suplementary of holotype, 3 soldiers).

Imago. Unknown.

Soldier ( Fig. 3 F, 4F, 5F). Monomorphic. Head capsule pear-shaped in dorsal view ( Fig 3 F). Antenna articles short ( Fig. 4 F). Frontal tube conical, about one-third longer than length of head. Dorsal margin of head and margin of frontal tube straight in profile. Mandible strongly curved ( Fig. 5 F), with subrectangular marginal tooth, apical region of each mandible aligns to the proximal region of the opposite mandible when closed. Inner margin of mandible serrated. Postmentum quadrangular. Forecoxa process subcylindrical. Head capsule with six long bristles; four laterally and two centrally. Pronotum with two to four long bristles on anterior lobe followed by a set of short bristles. Head capsule orange to reddish, body yellow. Measurements given in Table 3 .

Worker. Fontanelle inconspicuous. Postclypeus with a medium line light, inconspicuous. Measurements given in Table 2 .

Etymology. Augusto Matraga is a fictional character created by João Guimarães Rosa (Rosa 1966, translation), an important writer known for his work that values the country people of Minas Gerais. The author compares the strength of Augustus Matraga to termites: “(…) tired his body with hard work and said prayers for his soul, all this without effort, like the white ants that raise red mounds in the pasture (…)” (Op. cit.).

Biological notes. Rhynchotermes matraga sp. nov. was collected with Winkler extractors without other biological data.

Comparisons. The soldier of R. matraga sp. nov. is morphologically similar to R. piauy but is more robust with a wider head capsule and has proportionally shorter legs than R. piauy . In R. piauy the frontal tube length is almost as long as the head length while R. matraga sp. nov. has a frontal tube that is markedly longer than the head.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Soldier head capsule dorsal view. A: Rhynchotermes amazonensis sp. nov. (major soldier, MZUSP 12800), B: idem (minor soldier, idem), C: R. bulbinasus (major soldier, MZUSP 16115), D: R. diphyes (major soldier, MZUSP 15934), E: idem (minor soldier, idem), F: R. matraga sp. nov. (MZUSP 16125), G: R. nasutissimus (lectotype DEZA), H: R. perarmatus (MZUSP 16114) and I: R. piauy (MZUSP 16126). Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Soldier head capsule lateral view. A: Rhynchotermes amazonensis sp. nov. (major soldier), B: idem (minor soldier), C: R. bulbinasus (major soldier), D: R. diphyes (major soldier), E: idem (minor soldier), F: R. matraga sp. nov., G: R. nasutissimus, H: R. perarmatus, and I: R. piauy. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 5. Soldier left mandible. A: Rhynchotermes amazonensis sp. nov. (major soldier), B: idem (minor soldier), C: R. bulbinasus (major soldier), D: R. diphyes (major soldier), E: idem (minor soldier), F: R. matraga sp. nov., G: R. nasutissimus, H: R. perarmatus and I: R. piauy. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.