Amitermes aporema Constantino, 1992

Rocha, Mauricio M. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2020, Comparative anatomy of the gut of the South American species of Amitermes, with description of two new species and an identification key based on soldiers and workers, Zootaxa 4751 (1), pp. 75-104 : 78-81

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4751.1.4
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:778B13DA-851C-4CE8-B283-08B8F07E997A
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3718070
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/987B995A-FFEA-FFEF-FF51-FBF4FD6DFE5C
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Amitermes aporema Constantino, 1992
status

Treatment

Amitermes nordestinus Mélo & Fontes, 2003 , new synonym

Imago (first description) (Figs. 10A, 10B): Head almost round, very small; eyes oval, separated from ventral margin of head by almost half their diameter. Ocelli small, subcircular, separated from eyes by their longest diameter. Postclypeus short, not swollen. Fontanelle elongate, white, drop-shaped, with pointed frontal end. Antennae with 13 or 14 articles, third the shortest, followed by the 4th, from 5th increasing a little in size till the 11th, the last two or three longer and about the same size. Mandibles as in worker ( Constantino 1992, Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ). Pronotum narrower than head width, subtriangular, anterior margin straight, anterolateral corners broadly rounded, sides strongly convergent; posterior margin slightly emarginated. Densely haired; head with many decumbent bristles and many hairs; pronotum with hairs and decumbent bristles on surface and few erect bristles on margins; tergites with many hairs and few erect bristles on posterior margin. Head, pronotum and body light brown; postclypeus, antennae, sternites and legs yellowish brown; wings translucent, smoky brown. Measurements (three individuals, males and females from one colony, in millimeters), LH: 0.58–0.60, WH: 0.80–0.82, MDE: 0.15, MaDO: 0.07–0.08, MiDO: 0.06, LP: 0.37–0.40, WP: 0.63–0.65, MiLW: 6.71, LT: 0.77, DEHM: 0.05–0.06.

Soldier (Figs. 11A–11D): A. aporema was described by Constantino (1992) and A. nordestinus by Mélo & Fontes (2003). Illustrations of paratype soldiers are provided here.

Gut anatomy ( Figs. 6B View FIGURE 6 , 7C View FIGURE 7 , 8B, 8C View FIGURE 8 , 12, 13): Crop asymmetrical, with oesophagous insertion displaced to left side, covered internally with pectinate scales before gizzard. Gizzard of the generalized type, with columnar and pulvillar belts subequal in length; first-order pulvilli conspicuous, with tiny pectinate scales, second-order pulvilli reduced ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ). Stomodeal valve inserted in apex of mesenteron. Mesenteric tongue internal to mesenteric arch, narrower proximally and gradually enlarging to tip, ending before dilated portion of first proctodeal segment (P1) (Figs. 12C, 13C). P1 fusiform, crossing abdomen diagonally in dorsal view, over paunch (P3), with long narrow neck forming marked handle, at right side of P3 (Figs. 12B, 13B, arrow), handle may be oriented clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on its accommodation in the gut. We observed both conditions among individuals of the same colony, but the clockwise orientation was more common. P1 cuticular ornamentation composed only of elongated area of spines with sclerotized base, located proximally ( Figs. 6B View FIGURE 6 , 7C View FIGURE 7 ). Enteric-valve armature (P2) weakly sclerotized, with six elongated cushions ornamented with small scattered spines ( Figs. 8B, 8C View FIGURE 8 ), cushions follow entire distal P1 handle and cannot be mounted as a single piece (see comments below). P3 well developed. Isthmus not marked. Fourth proctodeal segment (P4) with short U-turn and displaced to right side of body (Figs. 12A, 13A).

Comments. The gut anatomy of all samples examined, including the type specimens, clearly shares the same characteristics, mainly the distal portion of the P1 forming a handle and the P4 displaced to the right side of the abdomen; these characters combined are absent in all other species of Amitermes examined. The same is valid for the soldier caste, characterized by the absent (or poorly marked) marginal teeth, which distinguishes them from all other South American species.

The comparison with A. aporema in the original description of A. nordestinus pointed out only differences in proportions among the heads of the soldiers; even so, some measurements of A. nordestinus provided in the description overlap with those of A. aporema . Examination of a large series of specimens showed that these differences are not significant.

The records of both A. aporema and A. nordestinus are from open formations (Cerrado and Caatinga areas or human-modified vegetation), although A. aporema was originally described from a small disjunct Cerrado formation in Amapá State ( Fig. 14 View FIGURE 14 ).

The enteric-valve cushion illustrated here ( Figs. 8B, 8C View FIGURE 8 ) is not perfect, since the species has a very small section, a tight musculature, and the number of specimens for dissection was limited. However, the material does not show any distinctive characteristic.

Material examined. BRAZIL. Amapá. Aporema , 26.x.1989, R. Constantino (9547, paratypes) . Bahia. Campo Formoso: 20.vii.1974, R. L. Araujo (5532, 5535); Inhambupe: xi.2005, William (15542); Itaberaba : 18.vi.2001, A.C.S. Mélo (UFPB-1317, paratypes of A. nordestinus ); 04.xii.1990, E.M. Cancello & M. T. Ponte (11383, 11384, 11385); Salvador: Ondina, 07.vii.1970, R. L. Araujo (4825) ; Minas Gerais. P. Nac. Grande Sertão Veredas , 12.x.2012, J.P. Constantini (26863), M.M. Rocha (16231*) ; Piauí. Floriano: Faz. Buriti Sol , 06.xi.1991, E.M. Cancello & M. T. Pontes (15765) ; Rio Grande do Norte. Mossoró : 15.xii.1975, R. L. Araujo (6411) ; Tocantins. Ponte Alta do Tocantins: Jalapão , T. F. Carrijo (26379) .