Anhangatermes pilosus Oliveira & Constantino

Oliveira, Danilo E., Cunha, Hélida F. & Constantino, Reginaldo, 2014, A taxonomic revision of the soil-feeding termite genus Anhangatermes (Isoptera: Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae), Zootaxa 3869 (5), pp. 523-536 : 534-535

Anhangatermes pilosus Oliveira & Constantino , new species

Holotype: soldier, part of lot DZUB-6772, 20.viii.2005, collected by H.S. Lima & D.D. Franczak.

Type repository: Dept. of Zoology, University of Brasília.

Type-locality: BRAZIL. State of Mato Grosso. Parque Estadual do Araguaia, lat 12.575S long 50.918W, elevation 200 m.

Paratypes: 36 soldiers and 36 workers from 4 different colonies, same locality and collectors as holotype, 20.viii.2005 (DZUB-6769, DZUB-6770), 08.xi.2005 (DZUB-6771, DZUB-6772). Lot DZUB-6772 with two alates.

Etymology. From the Latin, “ pilosus ”, hairy.

Imago ( Figs. 1 C, 11). Head capsule dark brown. Postclypeus light brown; midline darker. Labrum brownish yellow. Frontal marks semi-circular, inconspicuous. Fontanelle white. Ecdysial line (epicranial suture) inconspicuous. Antenna brown. Pronotum brown, a little lighter than head capsule; midline lighter. Legs and pleural sclerites brownish yellow. Tergites brown, lighter than pronotum. Sternites light brown. Wings brownish, hyaline; anterior veins darker. Head capsule and postclypeus with many inclined hairs of variable length and sparse bristles. Labrum with a few long bristles and short hairs. Pronotum densely covered with hairs, longer near margins. Tergites and sternites densely covered with hairs of variable length and sparse bristles. Wings with short hairs on surface, more numerous and longer on anterior margin. Head capsule ovoid ( Fig. 11 A). Fontanelle conspicuous, depressed. Eye nearly circular, medium-sized; distance to lower margin of head about 1/6 its diameter. Ocelli oval, medium-sized, separated from eyes by a distance about their length ( Fig. 11 C). Postclypeus short and moderately inflated; anterior margin nearly straight; posterior margin convex. Pronotum with anterior margin concave; sides convex converging posteriorly. Posterior margin of meso- and metanotum broadly V-shaped; posterior points roughly rounded, irregular. Relative length of antennal articles: 6>2=3>5>4. Measurements, in mm, of two alates (one male and one female): LH 0.98–1.00; WH 1.32–1.38; LT: 1.64–1.68; WPr 1.18–1.30; LPr 0.76–0.82; DE 0.34.

Soldier ( Figs. 5 D, 6E, 6F, 9E). Head capsule yellow-orange; nasus darker. Antennae and thoracic nota yellow. Legs yellowish. Tergites and sternites hyaline. Head capsule with 2 bristles on vertex, 2‒4 on the upper part of each lateral side, 2 on clypeus, and 4‒6 at base of nasus; number, size and arrangement of bristles variable. Head capsule with numerous microscopic hairs, more numerous on vertex and frons. Apical 1/4 of nasus densely covered with short inclined hairs, which become longer toward apex; 4 longer hairs at tip. Pronotum with a row of about 6 bristles on anterior margin and about 4 bristles on posterior margin. Meso- and metanotum with bristles and hairs on posterior and lateral margins ( Fig. 5 D). Thoracic nota also with numerous microscopic hairs. Tergites with a irregular row of 12 or more bristles of variable size on posterior margin, and a second, similar row near middle ( Fig. 5 D); surface of tergites with numerous microscopic hairs. Sternites with a row of long bristles on posterior margin; surface with dense inclined hairs of variable length. Head capsule broad, with evenly convex sides. Mandibles rounded, without sharp points ( Fig. 9 E). Nasus long, subcylindrical and slightly upturned ( Fig. 6 F). Pronotum with anterior margin convex, slightly emarginate. Relative length of antennal articles: 3>6>5>2>4. Measurements in Table 1.

Worker ( Figs. 1 A, 3E, 10D). Head capsule and postclypeus yellowish. Epicranial suture and fontanelle spot inconspicuous. Fontanelle spot slightly depressed. Antennae with basal articles whitish, becoming yellow towards apex. Thoracic nota, legs and abdomen whitish. Head capsule with about 20 bristles of variable size ( Fig. 10 D) and many microscopic hairs; postclypeus with many bristles and hairs of variable size. Pro-, meso- and metanota with many bristles on margins and numerous microscopic hairs on surface. Pilosity of tergites and sternites similar to those of soldier, except that tergites have short hairs on surface. Enteric valve armature elongate, with 3 major plates alternating with 3 minor plates; minor plates narrower and a little shorter ( Fig. 3 E). Length of major plates about 0.3 mm and of minor plates about 0.2 mm. All plates covered with relatively large conical spines orientated in direction of food movement; posterior end of each plate with a line of perpendicular spines. Surface between plates without spines. Measurements in Table 2.

Comparisons. Soldiers of A. pilosus , sp. n., can be distinguished from all other known species by the many bristles on pro-, meso- and metanotum, and two rows of bristles on tergites. The worker is similar to those of A. anhanguera , sp. n. and A. juruena , sp. n.

Habitat. All samples collected from the topsoil in murundu fields, a particular type of savanna with hills (“murundus”) with shrubs and trees, surrounded by humid open grassland.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Mandibles of Anhangatermes. A, worker of A. pilosus, sp. n. (narrow gap); B, worker of A. eurycephalus, sp. n. (wide gap); C, imago of A. pilosus, sp. n.

FIGURE 3. Enteric valve armature of Anhangatermes. A, A. anhanguera, sp. n.; B – C: A. eurycephalus, sp. n. (C is a crosssection in posterior view); D, A. juruena, sp. n.; E, A. pilosus, sp. n.

FIGURE 5. Schematic drawings of soldiers of Anhangatermes in dorsal view, showing chaetotaxy of thoracic nota and tergites 1 and 2. A, A. anhanguera, sp. n.; B: A. eurycephalus, sp. n.; C, A. juruena, sp. n.; D, A. pilosus, sp. n. Microscopic hairs not shown.

FIGURE 6. Soldier heads of Anhangatermes, in dorsal view and in profile. A – B, A. anhanguera, sp. n.; C-D: A. juruena, sp. n.; E – F, A. pilosus, sp. n.

FIGURE 9. Soldier mandibles of Anhangatermes in dorsal view. A, A. anhanguera, sp. n.; B: A. eurycephalus, sp. n.; C, A. juruena, sp. n.; D, A. macarthuri Constantino 1990 (paratype); E, A. pilosus, sp. n.

FIGURE 10. Workers of Anhangatermes, head in dorsal view. A, A. anhanguera, sp. n.; B, A. eurycephalus, sp. n.; C, A. juruena, sp. n.; D, A. pilosus, sp. n.

FIGURE 11. Imago of Anhangatermes pilosus, sp. n. A, head in dorsal view; B, pronotum in dorsal view; C, head and pronotum in profile; D, wing microsculpturing.