Biratermes Rocha & Cancello 2022, new genus
Creators: name: Rocha, Mauricio M.
name: Cancello, Eliana M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Blattodea
Termitidae
Biratermes

description: Biratermes, new genus
Type species. Embiratermes robustus Constantino, 1992.
Etymology. The name Biratermes is proposed in honor of the late Ubirajara Ribeiro Martins de Souza, our professor at the MZUSP, colleague and friend, whose nickname was “Bira”. He was a renowned coleopterist and made important contributions to the development of Brazilian entomology.
Description
Imago. Unknown.
Soldier and worker external morphology. Described by Constantino (1992).
Digestive tube. Crop asymmetrical. Cuticular armature of gizzard with 24 visible folds, six of these first-order, six second-order and 12 third-order; ratio between columnar and pulvillar belts approximately equal to one; pulvillus I (major) ornamented with conspicuous spines (Fig. 2a). Mesenteron tubular, with long and arched mixed segment (nearly half length of mesenteron), connected by short filiform portion (Figs 3c, 3e). Two pairs of Malpighian tubules attached at mesenteron-proctodeum junction, one inside the mesenteric arch and another outside (Figs 3e, 3f). First proctodeal segment (P1) diagonal to body axis, enlarged and fusiform; distal end of P1 narrowed, forming short neck with P2 (Fig. 3b, arrow), before attachment to P3 dorsally. Enteric valve (P2) composed of three ridges slightly dilated apically, two long and one short (Fig. 2b). Dorsal torsion well-developed. Third proctodeal segment (P3) joined to colon (P4) on left side, isthmus short and parallel to body length (Fig. 3a). P4a dilated, making a Uturn, and P4b tubular.
Comparison with other genera of Syntermitinae. Soldiers of Syntermes Holmgren, Cornitermes Wasmann, Labiotermes Holmgren, and Procornitermes Emerson have a short frontal tube, not extending beyond the labrum (as viewed from above); a well-developed hyaline tip on the labrum; and commonly have almost straight cutting mandibles. Soldiers of Cahuallitermes Constantino have a rounded head, a well-developed labrum tip, and a postmentum with convex lateral margins (sinusoidal in Biratermes). The soldiers of Rhynchotermes Holmgren and Uncitermes Rocha & Cancello have strongly curved mandibles and an elongated frontal tube; and the soldiers of Rhynchotermes also have a conspicuous spine-like projection on the procoxae. Soldiers of Armitermes and Macuxitermes Cancello & Bandeira have the pro-, meso-, and metanotum with serrate lateral margins (Rocha et al. 2017), Macuxitermes has dimorphic soldiers, with an aberrantly shaped head. In the genera Cyrilliotermes Fontes and Curvitermes Holmgren the soldiers have peculiar mandibles, with a molar plate, molar prominence, and marginal teeth quite similar to the mandibles of their corresponding workers. In addition, the apical tooth is hook-shaped in Curvitermes, reduced in Cyrilliotermes; and cylindrical and elongated frontal tube in the Cyrilliotermes soldier (additional details of these two genera, mainly the dissected soldier mandibles, were furnished by Constantino & Carvalho 2012 and Carvalho & Constantino 2011, respectively). Soldiers of Paracurvitermes Constantino & Carvalho are smaller, and have a well-developed conical and shorter frontal tube than Biratermes; and the mandibles are distinctly curved. The soldier of Silvestritermes Rocha & Cancello has a rounded head and piercing mandibles, while those of Acangaobitermes Rocha, Cancello & Cuezzo and Noirotitermes Cancello & Myles are smaller with piercing mandibles; with the soldier of Acangaobitermes possessing an oblong head capsule and that of Noirotitermes with a remarkably distinctive shape to the head capsule. In both of the latter genera, there is a characteristic microsculpture present on the surface of the head capsule.
The most relevant comparisons are with Embiratermes s.s., Ibitermes s.s., and Mapinguaritermes Rocha & Cancello. Biratermes robustus was originally allocated to the first genus, and share a similar gut anatomy to the others. The worker gut of Biratermes gen. n. is easily distinguishable from Embiratermes s.s. (represented in the Fig. 4, E. festivellus as an example): the mesenteric tongue is straight and does not reach the dilated portion of the P1 (Figs 4c, 4e), whereas in the Biratermes gen. n., it is arched and reaches the dilated portion of the P1 (Figs 3c, 3e) and shows a filiform connection; the P2 is located at the abdomen mid-length (Fig. 4b, arrow), whereas in Biratermes it is located distally as in other members of the Syntermitinae (Fig. 3b, arrow). In the new genera the soldier mandibles are bladelike and robust, and the forecoxae have a smooth surface, Embiratermes s.s. species have piercing mandibles with a sharp point, and a projection in the ventral margin of the forecoxae.
Mapinguaritermes and Ibitermes s.s. soldiers have obvious differences as well. Ibitermes s.s. has a markedly inflated postclypeus and the mandibles lack marginal teeth, whereas Mapinguaritermes has an oval contour of the head (in dorsal view) and piercing mandibles. The worker gut of both share some traits exclusively with Biratermes gen. n.. The guts of Mapinguaritermes and Ibitermes were illustrated by Rocha et al. (2012) and Fontes (1998), respectively. All three genera workers have pulvilli ornamented with conspicuous spines (Fig. 2a), a character absent in all other members of Syntermitinae; the enteric valves of the three genera are very similar, i.e., with three ridges slightly dilated at the apex; the mesenteric tongues are twisted, although in Mapinguaritermes the tongue is shorter and the torsion is less pronounced.
description: Published as part of Rocha, Mauricio M. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2022, Updated taxonomy of Syntermitinae (Blattodea: Isoptera, Termitidae), with the description of three new genera, pp. 445-463 in Zootaxa 5138 (4) on pages 447-449, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5138.4.6, http://zenodo.org/record/6571669