| Mastotermes darwiniensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Infraorder: | Isoptera |
| Family: | Mastotermitidae |
| Genus: | Mastotermes |
| Species: | M. darwiniensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt, 1897 | |
Mastotermes darwiniensis, common names giant northern termite and Darwin termite, is a termite species found only in northern Australia. It is the most primitive extant termite species. [1]
This species shows uncanny similarities to certain cockroaches, the termites' closest relatives. These similarities include the anal lobe of the wing and the laying of eggs in bunches, rather than singly. It is the only living member of its genus Mastotermes and its family Mastotermitidae, though numerous fossil taxa are known. The termites were traditionally placed in the Exopterygota, but such an indiscriminate treatment makes that group a paraphyletic grade of basal neopterans. Thus, the cockroaches, termites, and their relatives are nowadays placed in a clade called the Dictyoptera. These singular termites appear at first glance like a cockroach's abdomen stuck to a termite's fore part. Their wings have the same form as those of the roaches, and its eggs are laid in a case as are roach eggs. It is thought to have evolved from the same ancestors as the wood roaches ( Cryptocercus ) in the Permian. Fossil wings have been discovered in the Permian of Kansas which have a close resemblance to wings of Mastotermes of the Mastotermitidae, [2] which is the most primitive living termite. This fossil is called Pycnoblattina . It folded its wings in a convex pattern between segments 1a and 2a. Mastotermes is the only living insect that does the same. [3]
Unlike cockroaches, only the reproductives have wings (see Life cycle of termites); wings that are considerably longer than their abdomen. Alates are approximately 35 mm long with a 50 mm wingspan. Soldiers are 11–13 mm long and workers are 10–11.5 mm long. [4] The soldiers have an alarm defense system which warns nest-mates within the colony of potential dangers. Two ways they communicate these dangers is through pheromones secreted in its labial glands, and by creating vibrations through movements. [5]
Mastotermes darwiniensis is usually not very numerous, nor are the colonies large when left to natural conditions. However, when given abundant water (such as regular irrigation) and favourable food and soil conditions (such as stored timber or timber structures), populations can be enormous, numbering in the millions, quickly destroying their host. Its diet is varied, as it will eat introduced plants, damaged ivory and leather, and wood and debris, and in fact almost anything organic. It becomes a major agricultural pest, to the extent that vegetable farming has been virtually abandoned in Northern Australia [6] wherever this termite is numerous, which it is outside of the rain forest or bauxite soils. [7] It has developed the ability to bore up into a living tree and ring bark it such that it dies and becomes the center of a colony.
M. darwiniensis is the only known host of the symbiotic protozoan Mixotricha paradoxa , remarkable for its multiple bacterial symbionts. [8]
Termites are eusocial insects that are classified at the taxonomic rank of infraorder Isoptera, or as epifamily Termitoidae within the order Blattodea. Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus Cryptocercus. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous. About 3,106 species are currently described, with a few hundred more left to be described. Although these insects are often called "white ants", they are not ants, and are not closely related to ants.
The American cockroach is the largest species of common cockroach, and often considered a pest. In certain regions of the U.S. it is colloquially known as the waterbug, though it is not a true waterbug since it is not aquatic. It is also known as the ship cockroach, kakerlac, and Bombay canary. It is often misidentified as a palmetto bug.
The Florida woods cockroach or palmetto bug is a large cockroach species which typically grows to a length of 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in). When alarmed, adults can eject an extremely foul-smelling directional spray up to 1 m, which inspired several of its other common names: Florida skunk roach, Florida stinkroach, skunk cockroach, skunk roach, stinking cockroach, and stinkroach. Two other naming variations include Florida cockroach and Florida woods roach.
The oriental cockroach, also known as the waterbug or black beetle, is a large species of cockroach, adult males being 18–29 mm (0.71–1.14 in) and adult females being 20–27 mm (0.79–1.06 in). It is dark brown or black in color and has a glossy body. The female has a somewhat different appearance from the male, appearing to be wingless at a casual glance, but is brachypterous, having non-functional wings just below her head. She has a wider body than the male. The male has long wings, which cover three quarters of the abdomen and are brown in color, and has a narrower body. Both of them are flightless. The female oriental cockroach looks somewhat similar to the Florida woods cockroach and may be mistaken for it. Originally endemic to the Crimean Peninsula and the region around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, its distribution is now cosmopolitan.
Psocoptera are an order of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. They first appeared in the Permian period, 295–248 million years ago. They are often regarded as the most primitive of the hemipteroids. Their name originates from the Greek word ψῶχος, psokhos meaning gnawed or rubbed and πτερά, ptera meaning wings. There are more than 5,500 species in 41 families in three suborders. Many of these species have only been described in recent years.
Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, the termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests an intimate relationship with the cockroaches, both cockroaches and termites having evolved from a common ancestor. The Blattodea and the mantises are now all considered part of the superorder Dictyoptera. Blattodea includes approximately 4,400 species of cockroach in almost 500 genera, and about 3,000 species of termite in around 300 genera.
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattodea, which also includes termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as pests.
The most recent understanding of the evolution of insects is based on studies of the following branches of science: molecular biology, insect morphology, paleontology, insect taxonomy, evolution, embryology, bioinformatics and scientific computing. It is estimated that the class of insects originated on Earth about 480 million years ago, in the Ordovician, at about the same time terrestrial plants appeared. Insects may have evolved from a group of crustaceans. The first insects were landbound, but about 400 million years ago in the Devonian period one lineage of insects evolved flight, the first animals to do so. The oldest insect fossil has been proposed to be Rhyniognatha hirsti, estimated to be 400 million years old, but the insect identity of the fossil has been contested. Global climate conditions changed several times during the history of Earth, and along with it the diversity of insects. The Pterygotes underwent a major radiation in the Carboniferous while the Endopterygota underwent another major radiation in the Permian.
Mastotermitidae is a family of termites with one sole living species, Mastotermes darwiniensis which is found only in northern Australia. The remaining genera of this family are only known from the fossil record.
Blattoptera, or proto-cockroaches, is a name given to various "roachid" fossil insects related to cockroaches, mantises and termites, and of general cockroach-like appearance and possibly habit. The group is on the rank of an order, though being paraphyletic is most often given without formal taxonomic rank. Several alternative names have been suggested for this fossil group, including Blattodea, a name currently used for the group including the modern cockroaches as well as their fossil relatives.
Archedictyon is a name given to a hypothetical scheme of wing venation proposed for the common ancestor of all winged insects.
Therea petiveriana, variously called the desert cockroach, seven-spotted cockroach, or Indian domino cockroach, is a species of crepuscular cockroach found in southern India. They are members of a basal group within the cockroaches. This somewhat roundish and contrastingly marked cockroach is mainly found on the ground in scrub forest habitats where they may burrow under leaf litter or loose soil during the heat of the day.
Ctenomorpha marginipennis, the margin-winged stick insect, is a species of stick insect endemic to southern Australia. The species was first described by George Robert Gray in 1833.
Blattabacterium is a genus of obligate mutualistic endosymbiont bacteria that are believed to inhabit all species of cockroach studied to date, with the exception of the genus Nocticola. The genus' presence in the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis led to speculation, later confirmed, that termites and cockroaches are evolutionarily linked.
Coptotermes gestroi, the Asian subterranean termite is a small species of termite that lives underground. Both this species and the Formosan subterranean termite, are destructive pests native to Asia, but have spread to other parts of the world including the United States. In Asia, this species is known as the Philippine milk termite.
Kalotermes flavicollis, the yellownecked dry-wood termite, is a species of dampwood termites belonging to the family Kalotermitidae, one of the most primitive families of termites.
Mastotermes is a genus of termites. The sole living species is Mastotermes darwiniensis, found only in northern Australia. A number of extinct taxa are known from fossils. It is a very peculiar insect, the most primitive termite alive. As such, it shows notable similarities to certain cockroaches, the termites' closest relatives. These similarities include the anal lobe of the wing and the laying of eggs in bunches, rather than singly. The termites were traditionally placed in the Exopterygota, but such an indiscriminate treatment makes that group a paraphyletic grade of basal neopterans. Thus, the cockroaches, termites and their relatives are nowadays placed in a clade called Dictyoptera.
Mastotermes electromexicus is an extinct species of termite in the family Mastotermitidae known from a group of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossils found in Mexico. M. electromexicus is the only species in the genus Mastotermes to have been described from fossils found in Mexican amber and was the first member of the genus described from the New World. The only living species of Mastotermes is Mastotermes darwiniensis which is found in tropical regions of Northern Australia.
Incisitermes minor is a species of termite in the family Kalotermitidae known commonly as the western drywood termite. It is native to western North America, including the western United States and northern Mexico. It has been found in many other parts of the United States, all the way to the East Coast. It has been reported from Toronto. It has been introduced to Hawaii. It has been noted in China and it is not uncommon in Japan. This is an economically important pest of wooden structures, including houses. In California and Arizona alone its economic impact is estimated to be about $250 million per year.
Coptotermes acinaciformis is a species of subterranean termite in the family Rhinotermitidae native to Australia. Termites are social insects and build a communal nest. In the case of C. acinaciformis, this is either in the root crown of a tree or underground. From this, a network of galleries extends through the nearby soil, enabling the workers to forage in the surrounding area without emerging on the surface of the ground. This termite can cause substantial damage to trees and the wooden parts of buildings.
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