Schievitermes globicornis sp. nov.

Material examined.

Holotype: soldier. French Guiana, Petit Saut Dam Road, Carbet Maman Lézard, 05.0672°N, 52.9992°W, from nest among tree roots, 20.i.2012 (coll. Y. Roisin - accession G683) . Paratypes: soldiers and workers from same colony as holotype. Worker’s mtDNA sequence deposited in GenBank under label Neocapritermes sp. H TB-2017 isolate G683, accession KY224444 (Bourguignon et al. 2017). From other colonies than holotype: French Guiana , Laussat (N1 road, PK194), forest on white sands, 05.4698°N, 53.5748°W, small nest in rotten stump, with queen, soldiers and workers, 27.i.2020 (coll. Y. Roisin, N. Fontaine, A. Dumortier - accession G20-12); Mana Road (D8, PK1-2), forest on white sands, 05.5125°N, 53.5504°W, soldiers and workers in dead wood on the ground, 27.x.2021 (coll. Y. Roisin, N. Fontaine, J. Timmermans - accession G21-54). Type material to be deposited in the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium .

Description.

Imago (Figs 18-20): caste only known from single queen from colony G20-12. This individual was physogastric, with partly depigmented eyes indicating a long underground life. Other body parts were probably of paler pigmentation than in swarming alates as well. Head capsule medium brown, postclypeus, pronotum and other tergites lighter. Antennae broken, 9-11 articles remaining, article 3 narrower and shorter than 2 and 4. Fontanelle hyaline, ovoid, about 45 µm long by 30 µm wide. Head capsule regularly rounded behind. Compound eyes medium-sized, ocelli large, separated from eyes by less than their own width. Pronotum rounded laterally and posteriorly, with a distinct notch behind. Measurements (in mm; numbers between brackets refer to list of measurements proposed by Roonwal 1969): Head length to anterior margin of postclypeus [8]: 0.770; head width, with eyes [17]: 0.810; head width, between eyes [52]: 0.595; eye maximum diameter [48]: 0.260; ocellus maximum diameter [55]: 0.115; ocellus-eye distance [57]: 0.035; pronotum length [65]: 0.425; pronotum width [68]: 0.635; hind tibia length [85]: 0.820.

Soldier (Figs 1 - 4): Head capsule yellow-brown. Mandibles black, turning brown near base. Antennae yellow-brown. Tibial spurs 3:2:2, anterior spur of fore leg about half the length of the other two.

Measurements of 10 soldiers from three colonies (in mm; numbers between brackets refer to list of measurements proposed by Roonwal 1969): Total head length, including mandibles (held straight forward in measured individuals) [4]: 2.535-2.775; length of head to lateral base of mandibles [5]: 1.320-1.470; head width [17]: 0.700-0.755; length of left mandible [37]: 1.255-1.330; length of right mandible [37]: 1.205-1.295; length of postmentum along median line [61]: 0.800-0.930; maximum width of postmentum [62]: 0.235-0.280; minimum width of postmentum [63]: 0.145-0.175; pronotum width [68]: 0.470-0.510; length of hind tibia [85]: 0.575-0.635.

Worker (Figs 5 - 9, 12-13, 15-17): Antennae of 13 articles. Tibial spurs 2:2:2. Head width of 20 workers from three colonies: 0.640-0.700 mm.

Etymology.

from Latin globus = globe, sphere, and cornu = horn, antenna; the specific epithet refers to the globular shape of the third antennal article of the soldier.