Termitogeton Desneux, 1904

Bourguignon, Thomas & Roisin, Yves, 2011, Revision of the termite family Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera) in New Guinea, ZooKeys 148, pp. 55-103 : 81-82

Genus Termitogeton Desneux, 1904

Termes (Termitogeton) Desneux 1904a: 373-374.

Termitogeton Desneux. Holmgren 1911b: 75.

Type species.

Termes planus Haviland, 1898, by monotypy.

Note on type species designation.

Snyder (1949) mentioned Termes umbilicatus Hagen, 1858, as type species of Termitogeton . However, Desneux (1904a) explicitly based the original description of the subgenus Termitogeton on Termes planus . In this paper, he mentions Termes umbilicatus only once, stating that Termes planus "est probablement synonyme de Termes umbilicatus Hagen". That two species are considered probable synonyms by an author does not automatically imply that this author has no doubt about their subgeneric assignment. Consequently, Termes umbilicatus should be considered as doubtfully included in Termitogeton , and ineligible for type species fixation (Art. 67.2.5 of the Code). Termitogeton Desneux should therefore be considered as monotypic when established, Termes planus becoming automatically the type species. The fact that Desneux (1904b) subsequently mentioned Termes umbilicatus as single valid species of Termes ( Termitogeton ), with Termes planus as a?-marked junior synonym, is irrelevant.

Diagnosis.

Imagoes densely hairy. Head larger posteriorly than anteriorly. Fontanelle very narrow, placed in the middle of the head. Eyes small. Antennae with 10 to 15 articles. Pronotum very small, half as broad as head. Wings without median and radial vein ( Krishna 1970). Soldiers densely hairy, with characteristic heart-shaped, dorso-ventrally flattened head. Antennae generally with 13 to 15 articles. Labrum roughly triangular-shaped. Mandibles elongated, without marginal teeth. Pronotum half as broad as head.

Distribution.

Termitogeton is a rainforest-dwelling wood feeder known from Sri Lanka, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia ( Tho 1992) and western New Guinea ( Parmentier and Roisin 2003).