Ruptitermes kaapora, Acioli, Agno Nonato Serrão & Constantino, Reginaldo, 2015

Acioli, Agno Nonato Serrão & Constantino, Reginaldo, 2015, A taxonomic revision of the neotropical termite genus Ruptitermes (Isoptera, Termitidae, Apicotermitinae), Zootaxa 4032 (5), pp. 451-492 : 467-468

Ruptitermes kaapora , new species

Holotype: worker from lot UnB-8664

Type-locality: PARAGUAY: Boquerón: La Patria, Parque Nacional Teniente Enciso (lat 21.2069S long 61.6569W).

Type-repository: UnB.

Paratypes: BRAZIL: Paraná: Maringá, 28.ix.2004, M.C. Takasusuki col., one worker (UnB-6629). PARAGUAY: Boquerón: La Patria, Parque Nacional Teniente Enciso, 02.xi.2001, Y. Roisin col., workers, imagoes (UnB-8664, ULB-PAYT20).

Etymology. From the Tupi-Guarani word, “ kaapora ”, forest dweller.

Imago ( Fig. 10 ). Head capsule reddish brown, paler around antennal sockets and darker around ocelli, with many long bristles and densely covered with short hairs, about 1/5 of the length of bristles. Eyes rounded, relatively small. Fontanelle elliptical, small and white. Ocelli small, distant from eyes. Frontal marks rounded, small and faint. Postclypeus large and inflated, brownish yellow, much paler than head capsule; with many bristles and dense short hairs. Antenna yellow, paler than postclypeus. Mandibles similar to those of R. xanthochiton . Pronotum about the same width as head; anterior margin concave; lateral margins convex, converging posteriorly; light brown, a little paler than head capsule and much darker than postclypeus, with a small elongate, pale spot on midline close to anterior lobe; with many bristles and dense short hairs. Scutum and scutellum light brown, a little darker than pronotum; lateral margins of scutellum white. Pleural sclerites and coxae light brown; femur and tibia brownish yellow. Tergites light brown, same color as pronotum; sternites paler than tergites. Measurements in Table 1 .

Worker ( Figs. 11 , 22 G). Head capsule rounded, yellow, paler anteriorly, with sparse bristles and numerous short hairs inclined anteriorly. Postclypeus large and inflated, light yellow, paler than head capsule; with one bristle near the center of each lobe and sparse short hairs. Fontanelle rounded, a little paler than head capsule. Frontal marks inconspicuous. Mandibles similar to those of R. xanthochiton ; notch on left mandible short, forming an angle of about 60°. Thoracic nota light yellow, paler than head capsule, with bristles along margins, and no short hairs. Procoxa with 7–10 spine-like bristles of variable size on anterior surface, roughly arranged along a curved line ( Fig. 11 C). Inner surface of profemur with about 10 thick and long bristles on proximal third, distributed irregularly. Protibia moderately inflated, with two irregular rows of spine-like bristles along inner margin ( Fig. 11 B). Tergites yellowish, hyaline, paler than thoracic nota, with two rows of bristles and many short hairs on surface. Dehiscent glands moderately developed, usually reaching the second abdominal segment. Measurements in Table 2 .

Comparisons. The imago of R. kaapora can be recognized by the large, inflated and pale colored postclypeus. The following combination of characters can be used to distinguish the worker of this species: head capsule covered with many short hairs; postclypeus large and inflated; procoxa with 7–10 spine-like bristles.

Remarks. The enteric valve was not examined because the type series contains only a few specimens and it is usually necessary to dissect several of them to obtain a good mount.

Distribution. Known only from two localities, one in Paraguay and another in Brazil ( Fig. 27 ), both in forest habitats.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Imago of Ruptitermes kaapora, sp. n. A, head in profile; B, head in dorsal view; C, pronotum in dorsal view; D, pterothorax in dorsal view.

FIGURE 11. Worker of Ruptitermes kaapora, sp. n. A, habitus; B, protibia; C, procoxae; D, head in profile; E, head in dorsal view; F, mandibles.

FIGURE 22. Worker heads of Ruptitermes, showing pilosity. All figures in the same scale.

FIGURE 27. Geographic range of Ruptitermes bandeirai, sp. n., R. cangua, sp. n., R. franciscoi (Snyder 1959), new combination, R. kaapora, sp. n., and Ruptitermes krishnai, sp. n.