A new termite species (Isoptera: Termitidae: Termitinae: Amitermes) and first record of a Subterranean Termite from the Coastal Desert of South America

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2328 (1) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
RUDOLF H. SCHEFFRAHN ◽  
JEAN-BERNARD HUCHET

At about one hundred species (Scheffrahn & Su 1987), Amitermes, is the second largest genus after Microcerotermes in the subfamily Termitinae. This cosmopolitan genus is found in a wide variety of habitats from rainforests e.g., Amitermes excellens (Silvestri) from Guyana (Emerson 1925) and Amitermes dentatus (Haviland) from Sumatra (Gathorne-Hardy et al. 2001) to deserts, e.g. Amitermes emersoni Light from Coachella, California (Light 1930) and Amitermes desertorum Desneux from Egypt (Sands 1992). Only eight species of Amitermes are known from the Neotropics and only five occur across mainland South America. Soldiers of Amitermes are characterized by a bulbous head capsule and sickle-shaped mandibles, each with a single tooth of various shapes on their inner margins. Soldiers of all species have a large cephalic gland opening to a circular fontanelle on the frons. When confronted by an agonist, the soldier emits a terpenoid secretion which oozes onto setae around and below the fontanelle (Scheffrahn et al. 1983). Herein, is described a new Amitermes from Peru and the first record of a subterranean termite along the Pacific coastal desert of South America.

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Cadena ◽  
Juan Abella ◽  
Maria Gregori

The evolution and occurrence of fossil sea turtles at the Pacific margin of South America is poorly known and restricted to Neogene (Miocene/Pliocene) findings from the Pisco Formation, Peru. Here we report and describe the first record of Oligocene (late Oligocene, ∼24 Ma) Pan-Cheloniidae sea turtle remains of South America. The fossil material corresponds to a single, isolated and well-preserved costal bone found at the Montañita/Olón locality, Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. Comparisons with other Oligocene and extant representatives allow us to confirm that belongs to a sea turtle characterized by: lack of lateral ossification, allowing the dorsal exposure of the distal end of ribs; dorsal surface of bone sculptured, changing from dense vermiculation at the vertebral scute region to anastomosing pattern of grooves at the most lateral portion of the costal. This fossil finding shows the high potential that the Ecuadorian Oligocene outcrops have in order to explore the evolution and paleobiogeography distribution of sea turtles by the time that the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans were connected via the Panama basin.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Cadena ◽  
Juan Abella ◽  
Maria Gregori

The evolution and occurrence of fossil sea turtles at the Pacific margin of South America is poorly known and restricted to Neogene (Miocene) findings from Perú. Here we report and describe the first record of Paleogene (Late Oligocene, ~24 Ma) sea turtle remains. The fossil material corresponds to a single, isolated and well-preserved costal bone found at the Montañita/Olón locality, Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. Comparisons with other Oligocene and extant representatives allow us to confirm that belong to a sea turtle characterized by: lack of lateral ossification, allowing the dorsal exposure of the distal end of ribs; dorsal surface of bone sculptured, changing from dense vermiculation at the vertebral scute region and changing to anastomosing pattern of grooves at the most lateral portion of the costal. This fossil finding shows the high potential that the Ecuadorian Paleogene outcrops have in order to explore the evolution and paleobiogeography distribution of sea turtles by the time that the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans were connected via the Panama basin.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Cadena ◽  
Juan Abella ◽  
Maria Gregori

The evolution and occurrence of fossil sea turtles at the Pacific margin of South America is poorly known and restricted to Neogene (Miocene) findings from Perú. Here we report and describe the first record of Paleogene (Late Oligocene, ~24 Ma) sea turtle remains. The fossil material corresponds to a single, isolated and well-preserved costal bone found at the Montañita/Olón locality, Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. Comparisons with other Oligocene and extant representatives allow us to confirm that belong to a sea turtle characterized by: lack of lateral ossification, allowing the dorsal exposure of the distal end of ribs; dorsal surface of bone sculptured, changing from dense vermiculation at the vertebral scute region and changing to anastomosing pattern of grooves at the most lateral portion of the costal. This fossil finding shows the high potential that the Ecuadorian Paleogene outcrops have in order to explore the evolution and paleobiogeography distribution of sea turtles by the time that the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans were connected via the Panama basin.


ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 963 ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ◽  
Olga Patricia Pinzón Florian

The imago and soldier castes of a new Rugitermes Holmgren, 1911 species, R. tintosp. nov. are described. It is the ninth species of Rugitermes from South America and the first record of this genus from Colombia. Unlike its congeners, the soldier of R. tinto has very dark head capsule pigmentation and acute protuberances projecting from frontolateral ridges.


ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 811 ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Rudolf H. Scheffrahn

The imago and soldier castes of a new Neotermes species, N.costaseca, are described. It is only the third termite species known from the Pacific coastal desert of Peru. Neotermescostasecasp. n. is compared with the allopatric Neotermeschilensis from the arid central and southern coastal plain of Chile.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50
Author(s):  
Carlos R. Vilela ◽  
Gerhard Bächli

The male terminalia of a non-type Diathoneura longipennis (Malloch 1926) specimen,collected in Peru, were dissected and analyzed. The aedeagus and associated sclerites were found tohave been fixed at a late stage of protrusion, resulting in a different morphology, when compared to thetwo previous publications, which were fixed at earlier stages. Consequently, additional details of certainanatomical parts were observed and a better understanding of the aedeagus protruding process was attained.Diathoneura longipennis has been previously identified in San Mateo, Alajuela, Costa Rica (type locality)and Panama, and this specimen represents the first record of this species in South America.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Lucas Carnohan ◽  
Sang-Bin Lee ◽  
Nan-Yao Su

Effective active ingredients in toxicant bait formulations must be non-deterrent to insect feeding behavior at lethal concentrations. This study evaluated feeding deterrence for Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, C. gestroi (Wasmann), and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) when provided access to cellulose impregnated with various concentrations of the insect molting hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Termites were exposed to 20E concentrations of 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm and to noviflumuron at 5000 ppm in a 24 h choice-test, and the mass of substrate consumption from treated and untreated media pads was compared for each treatment. 20E feeding deterrence was detected at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm for C. gestroi, and at 2000 ppm for C. formosanus. No significant differences in consumption of treated and untreated substrate was detected at any concentration for R. flavipes. Potential methods for reducing deterrence are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 148 (5) ◽  
pp. 616-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.R. Echegaray ◽  
R.N. Stougaard ◽  
B. Bohannon

AbstractEuxestonotus error (Fitch) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is considered part of the natural enemy complex of the wheat midge Sitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Although previously reported in the United States of America, there is no record for this species outside the state of New York since 1865. A survey conducted in the summer of 2015 revealed that E. error is present in northwestern Montana and is likely playing a role in the suppression of wheat midge populations.


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