Disjunctitermes insularis, a new soldierless termite genus and species (Isoptera, Termitidae, Apicotermitinae) from Guadeloupe and Peru

By

Scheffrahn, Rudolf
Carrijo, Tiago Fernandes
Postle, Anthony
Tonini, Francesco

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

665

Pages

71-84

Subjects

barcode sequence , overwater dispersal , Soil-feeder , stochastic spread , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.665.11599

 

Abstract

Disjunctitermes insularis gen. n. & sp. n. is described from workers collected on Guadeloupe and in Peru and is the first soldierless termite found on a deep-water island. As with many soldierless and soil-feeding termite species, the enteric valve morphology is an essential diagnostic character of D. insularis. The D. insularis sequence cluster, derived from a barcode analysis with twelve other described genera of New World Apicotermitinae, is well resolved. Results of a stochastic dynamic spread model suggest that the occurrence of D. insularis on Guadeloupe may be the result of a pre-Colombian overwater dispersal event from mainland South America.