Labiotermes oreadicus Constantino

Constantino, Reginaldo, Acioli, Agno N. S., Schmidt, Karen, Cuezzo, Carolina, Carvalho, Sérgio H. C. & Vasconcellos, Alexandre, 2006, A taxonomic revision of the Neotropical termite genera Labiotermes Holmgren and Paracornitermes Emerson (Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae), Zootaxa 1340, pp. 1-44 : 24-25

Labiotermes oreadicus Constantino , new species

Holotype: soldier, part of lot UnB­241, 27.ii.1997, R. Constantino

Type­locality: Brazil. Goiás State. Serra da Mesa ( Fig. 20 ).

Paratypes: workers, same data as holotype (UnB­241).

Etymology: Oréades corresponds to the Cerrado biome in the classification proposed by the German botanist von Martius. The word comes from the Latin oreadis and the Greek oreias, mountain nymph. In this case, oreadicus means inhabitant of the Cerrado.

Imago. Unknown.

Soldier ( Figs. 8 A–F, 11H). Head capsule subrectangular, with parallel sides in dorsal view. Frontal tube short but conspicuous, with broad tip, upturned. Top of head convex in profile. Antenna with 16 articles. Labrum wider than long; sides convex. Mandibles moderately elongate and robust. Left mandible: cutting edge between apical and 1st marginal slightly S­shaped; cutting edge between marginal teeth slightly concave. Right mandible with two marginal teeth, about the same size. Front coxa without a lateral projection near base. Head capsule and labrum brownish yellow; thorax and legs lighter than head capsule; tergites and sternites yellowish. Head capsule with numerous short and straight bristles of relatively uniform size; postmentum with numerous bristles on anterior half; pronotum with many bristles on margins and surface; mesonotum with metanotum with tergites and sternites densely covered with bristles and fine hairs. Measurements in Table 2 .

Comparisons. The mandibles and postmentum of L. oreadicus are distinct ( Fig. 11 H). It is also much larger than most other species, except L. guasu , which has very few bristles on the head.

Worker ( Figs. 8 G–J, 13H, 14E, 15 O –P, 16H). Head capsule and postclypeus with numerous bristles. Pronotum with numerous bristles on anterior lobe and a row of bristles on posterior margin. Mesonotum with a line of bristles on posterior margin. Front coxa without any projection near base. Antenna with 15–16 articles. Fontanelle large and rounded. Enteric valve armature with 3 distinct ridges of unequal sizes covered with dense, fine, and long hairs, and 3 vestigial ridges with long hairs. Mixed segment withtwo mesenteric lobes; large with a very narrow part closer to the mesenteron and an oval distal part; small lobe narrow and elongate. Measurements in Table 3 .

Comparisons. The workers of L. oreadicus can be recognized by its large size and the absence of a projection on the front coxa. Among all other species, only L. guasu and L. labralis lack this projection, but their heads have very few bristles. The enteric valve of L. oreadicus is distinct ( Fig. 16 H).

Figures

FIGURES 8. Labiotermes oreadicus, new species. Soldier: A, head in dorsal view; B, pronotum in dorsal view; C, pronotum in posterior view; D, head in profile; E, right front leg; F, postmentum. Worker: G, head in dorsal view; H, thorax; I, head in profile; J, right front leg. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 11. Soldier mandibles. A, Labiotermes brevilabius; B, L. emersoni; C, L. guasu, new species; D, L. labralis; E, L. laticephalus; F, L. leptothrix; G, L. longilabius; H, L. oreadicus, new species; I, L. orthocephalus; J, L. pelliceus. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 16. Enteric valve armature of workers. A, Labiotermes brevilabius; B, L. emersoni; C, L. guasu, new species; D, L. labralis; E, L. laticephalus; F, L. leptothrix; G, L. longilabius; H, L. oreadicus, new species; I, L. orthocephalus; J, L. pelliceus.

FIGURES 20. Geographic distribution of Labiotermes laticephalus, L. guasu, new species, and L. oreadicus, new species. The double symbol indicates the respective type­locality.