Nasutitermitinae

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Nasutitermitinae
Termite (Hospitalitermes sp.) (15572687452).jpg
Hospitalitermes sp
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Infraorder: Isoptera
Family: Termitidae
Subfamily: Nasutitermitinae
Hare [1]
Genera

see text

The Nasutitermitinae is a near cosmopolitan subfamily of higher termites represented by 81 genera and 605 species. [2] [3] The highly derived soldier caste exhibits vestigial mandibles and a protruding fontanellar process on the head, known as the nasus , from which they can "shoot" chemical weaponry. Notable genera include the notorious wood-eating Nasutitermes , and the conspicuous Hospitalitermes and Constrictotermes , both distinguished for their brazen habit of forming extensive foraging trails exposed to the open.

Contents

Genera

The Termite Catalogue lists the following genera: [4]

Nasutes

Termite nasute illustration (since reclassified as Nasutitermes corniger) NasuteImms.png
Termite nasute illustration (since reclassified as Nasutitermes corniger )

The fontanellar gun is a defense mechanism in the form of a horn-like frontal projection (nasus) on the head of a specialized nasute soldier caste which is capable of expelling chemical weaponry at a distance, a trait exclusive to the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. It is primarily used to ward off predators such as ants. [6] [7] [8]

References

  1. ↑ Hare L (1937). Termite phylogeny as evidenced by soldier mandible development. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 37(3): 459–486.
  2. ↑ Engel, M.S. (2011). "Family-group names for termites (Isoptera), redux". ZooKeys (148): 171–184. Bibcode:2011ZooK..148..171E. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.148.1682 . PMC   3264418 . PMID   22287896.
  3. ↑ Constantino, R. 2020. Termite Database. Brasília, University of Brasília. [updated April 2024; cited June 3rd 2025]. URL: http://termitologia.net.
  4. ↑ Termite Catalogue (retrieved 7 July 2019)
  5. ↑ Constantino R, Acioli ANS (2009). Ngauratermes arue, new genus and species of nasute termite (Isoptera: Termitidae) from the Amazon. Zootaxa, 2239: 22-30. Abstract & excerpt
  6. ↑ Prestwich, Glenn D. (May 1979). "Chemical Defense by Termite Soldiers". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 5 (3): 459–480. Bibcode:1979JCEco...5..459P. doi:10.1007/bf00987930. S2CID   40048208.
  7. ↑ Sobotnik, Jan; Jirosova, Anna; Hanus, Robert (September 2010). "Chemical warfare in termites". Journal of Insect Physiology. 56 (9): 1012–1021. Bibcode:2010JInsP..56.1012S. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.02.012. PMID   20223240.
  8. ↑ Miura, T.; Matsumoto, T. (2000). "Soldier morphogenesis in a nasute termite: discovery of a disc-like structure forming a soldier nasus". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 267 (1449): 1185–1189. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1127. PMC   1690655 . PMID   10902684.
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