Prostylotermes kamboja Engel & Grimaldi

Engel, Michael S., Grimaldi, David A., Nascimbene, Paul C. & Singh, Hukam, 2011, The termites of Early Eocene Cambay amber, with the earliest record of the Termitidae (Isoptera), ZooKeys 148, pp. 105-123 : 107-109

Prostylotermes kamboja Engel & Grimaldi sp. n. Figs 24

Holotype.

Imago ♀ (dealate) (Figs 2A, 2B); Tad-321C, India: Gujarat: Tadkeshwar lignite mine, Cambay Formation (Paleo-Eocene), 21°21.400"N, 73°4.532"E, 17-22 January 2010 (BSIPL).

Paratype.

Imago ♂ (dealate) (Fig. 2C); Tad-321C, same piece and repository as holotype.

Diagnosis.

As for the genus (vide supra).

Description.

Imago (dealate): Total length of female 5.0 mm, of male 3.8 mm; body entirely dark brown, including wing scales and legs, pleural areas lighter. Head of female with length 1.10 mm; compound eye virtually round, diameter 0.25-0.28 mm; fine short pilosity on vertex; postclypeus weakly bulging, length ~0.20 mm, clypeal length ~0.30 mm; fontanelle and coronal ecdysial cleavage line (= Y-shaped suture) not observable as preserved; four maxillary palpomeres, three labial palpomeres; apex of lacinia bifid (Fig. 4B); antenna with 17 articles; flagellomeres slightly and gradually increasing in width distad, basal flagellomere ~0.65x width of apicalmost flagellomere. Pronotum not entirely observable, mostly lost in female and dorsal view obscured in male, portions preserved for female indicate it is narrower than head width. Only wing scales present (wings shed); forewing scale briefly overlapping hind wing scale (by nearly 0.3x length of hind wing scale); both scales with CuP fracture basally very broad, tapered to a point just before or at scale margin; fine setae on costal margin of forewing scale, none on broad surface; some fine setae on broad surface of hind wing scale. Legs with sparse, fine setae on femora and tibiae; tibial spurs 2-2-2, without preapical dorsal spines on tibiae; tarsi trimerous, basitarsomere smallest, second tarsomere with ventroapical extension; distitarsomere 2.5x length of other tarsomeres (excluding second tarsomere extension and pretarsal claws); pretarsal claws simple, arolium absent; meso- and meta- epicoxal regions bulging, slightly explanate. Abdominal tergites and sternites well developed (meeting laterally); abdomen mildly dorsoventrally flattened; apex of abdomen (terminal sternites and tergites) broad, apical margins flattnened; cerci short, with two cercomeres (apicalmost cercomere minute, sometimes separated by distinctive membrane from basal cercomeres [in female]); male with small styli; female without styli.

Eggs: Oocytes elliptical, with fine, microscopic chorionic structure; longer one with fine papillae over most of chorion (Fig. 4E). First oocyte length 0.75 mm, width 0.20 mm; second oocyte length 0.53 mm, width 0.20 mm.

Etymology.

The specific epithet is treated as a noun in apposition. The name Kamboja (perhaps of Scythian origin) refers to the Indo-Iranian Kshatriya tribe (Hindu warrior elites) who appear in various ancient Indian texts such as the Vamsa Brahmana and the Mahabharata . In the second century B.C. the Kambojas invaded northern India and took control of various Indo-Arayan territories such as Gujarat, eventually settling the area and lending their name to Khambat (Cambay) and the area in which the amber harboring this species was recovered.

Comments.

This piece preserves together two virtually complete dealate adults - one a female, the other a male - though dorsal portions of the female have been lost at the amber surface. Interestingly, two eggs are preserved at the abdominal apex of the female (Fig. 4E).