Kalotermitidae

Kalotermes rufinotum, from CSIRO Entomology.

Belongs within: Isoptera.
Contains: Cryptotermes.

The Kalotermitidae, drywood termites, are a pantropical termite family lacking a division between the working and reproductive castes (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). Specialised glands in their digestive system allow retention of water ingested with food matter, allowing them to tolerate dry conditions for extended periods and use dry wood as a food supply.

Characters (from Hill 1942): Tarsi four-segmented; fontanelle absent. Winged adult with ocelli; mandibles of Heterotermes type; pronotum usually wider than head; anterior wing stumps usually large. Soldier with rudimentary eyes; mandibles very strong; sutures of head usually present.

<==Kalotermitidae [Calotermitidae, Calotermitinae, Kalotermitinae]
    |--+--Epicalotermes IVE07
    |  `--+--+--Postelectrotermes tongyaii IVE07, SVT04
    |     |  `--Cryptotermes IVE07
    |     `--Bifiditermes IVE07
    |          |--B. condonensis G70
    |          |--B. improbus IVE07
    |          `--B. indicus SVT04
    `--Kalotermes Hagen 1853 IVE07, H42 [=Calotermes Hagen 1858 H42]
         |--‘Calotermes’ adamsoni Froggatt 1897 F97
         |--K. aemulus WG91
         |--K. approximatus P92
         |--K. atratus Hill 1933 WG91, H42 [=Calotermes (Cryptotermes) atratus H42]
         |--K. banksiae Hill 1942 WG91, H42 [=Calotermes banksiae H42]
         |--K. brouni Froggatt 1896 M59, H42 [=Calotermes brouni H42]
         |--‘Calotermes’ condonensis Hill 1922 [incl. C. oldfieldi Hill 1925, C. oldfieldii var. chryseus Hill 1926] H42
         |--‘Termes’ convexus Walker 1853 [=Calotermes convexus] H42
         |--K. flavicollis Fabricius 1793 BP01
         |--K. hilli WG91
         |--‘Calotermes’ immigrans H42
         |--‘Calotermes’ improbus Hagen 1858 H42
         |--K. jouteli A50
         |--K. nigritus P92
         |--‘Termes’ obscurus Walker 1853 [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) obscurus] H42
         |--‘Calotermes’ pallidinotum Hill 1942 H42
         |--‘Calotermes’ repandus Hill 1926 H42
         |--K. rufinotum Hill 1925 WG91, H42 [=Calotermes rufinotum H42]
         |--K. serrulatus WG91
         |--K. sinaica BB03
         |--‘Calotermes’ spoliator Hill 1932 H42
         |--K. swinhoei GE05
         |--‘Calotermes’ tillyardi Hill 1932 H42
         `--K. tristis P92

Kalotermitidae incertae sedis:
  Incisitermes TW05
    |--I. barretti WG91
    |--I. krishnai Emerson 1969 P92
    `--I. minor [=Kalotermes minor] MS98
  Ceratokalotermes spoliator WG91
  Procryptotermes Holmgren 1910 A50, H42
    |--P. australiensis WG91
    `--P. fryeri A50
  0--Paraneotermes simplicicornis A50, N90
  `--+--Rugitermes nodulosus A50
     `--+--Neotermes Holmgren 1911 A50, H42
        |    |--N. castaneus Burmeister 1839 BP01
        |    |--N. connexus [=Calotermes connexus] H42
        |    |--N. ferrugineus (Holmgren 1911) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) ferrugineus] H42
        |    |--N. greeni RD77
        |    |--N. insularis (White in Walker 1853) (see below for synonymy) H42
        |    |--N. militaris RD77
        |    |--N. papua (Desneux 1905) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) papua, Kalotermes (N.) papua] H42
        |    |--N. rainbowi (Hill 1926) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) rainbowi, Kalotermes (N.) rainbowi] H42
        |    |--N. rouxi (Holmgren 1915) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) rouxi] H42
        |    |--N. samoanus (Holmgren 1912) (see below for synonymy) H42
        |    |--N. sarasini (Holmgren 1915) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) sarasini] H42
        |    |--N. schultzei (Holmgren 1911) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) schultzei] H42
        |    |--N. semilunaris (Holmgren 1915) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) semilunaris] H42
        |    |--N. sjoestedti (Desneux 1907) [=Calotermes sjoestedti, C. (Neotermes) sjoestedti] H42
        |    |--N. tectonae RD77
        |    `--N. wagneri BB03
        `--+--Eucryptotermes hageni A50
           `--+--Calcaritermes A50
              |    |--C. nigriceps A50
              |    `--C. vetus Emerson 1969 P92
              `--Glyptotermes Froggatt 1896 A50, H42 [Glyptotermitinae]
                   |--G. brevicaudatus SVT04
                   |--G. brevicornis Froggatt 1896 (see below for synonymy) H42
                   |--G. domesticus SVT04
                   |--G. eucalypti Froggatt 1896 [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) eucalypti] H42
                   |--G. iridipennis Froggatt 1896 [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) iridipennis] H42
                   |--G. kachongensis SVT04
                   |--G. neotuberculatus (Hill 1933) [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) neotuberculatus] H42
                   |--G. pinangae SVT04
                   |--G. taveuniensis (Hill 1926) [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) taveuniensis] H42
                   |--G. thailandis SVT04
                   |--G. tuberculatus Froggatt 1896 [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) tuberculatus] H42
                   `--G. xantholabrum (Hill 1926) (see below for synonymy) H42
  Parotermes Scudder 1883 F97

Glyptotermes brevicornis Froggatt 1896 [=Calotermes (Glyptotermes) brevicornis; incl. C. (G.) affinis Mjöberg 1920, C. (G.) claripennis Hill 1925, C. (G.) dubius Mjöberg 1920, C. (G.) nigrolabrum Hill 1921, C. (G.) perangustus Hill 1926, C. (G.) trilineatus Mjöberg 1920] H42

Glyptotermes xantholabrum (Hill 1926) [=Kalotermes (Glyptotermes) xantholabrum, Calotermes (G.) xantholabrum; incl. K. (G.) juddi Light 1932] H42

Neotermes insularis (White in Walker 1853) [=Termes insularis, Calotermes (Neotermes) insularis; incl. C. (N.) deuqueti Hill 1926, C. irregularis Froggatt 1896, C. (N.) irregularis, C. longiceps Froggatt 1896, C. (N.) longiceps, C. malandensis Mjöberg 1920, C. (N.) oculifer Mjöberg 1920, C. (N.) paralleliceps Mjöberg 1920, C. robustus Froggatt 1896, C. (N.) robustus] H42

Neotermes samoanus (Holmgren 1912) [=Calotermes (Neotermes) samoanus, Kalotermes (N.) samoanus; incl. N. sanctaecrucis Snyder 1925] H42

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A50] Ahmad, M. 1950. The phylogeny of termite genera based on imago-worker mandibles. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 95 (2): 37–86.

[BB03] Brugerolle, G., & C. Bordereau. 2003. Ultrastructure of Joenoides intermedia (Grassé 1952), a symbiotic parabasalid flagellate of Hodotermes mossambicus, and its comparison with other joeniid genera. European Journal of Protistology 39: 1–10.

[BP01] Brugerolle, G., & D. J. Patterson. 2001. Ultrastructure of Joenina pulchella Grassi, 1917 (Protista, Parabasalia), a reassessment of evolutionary trends in the parabasalids, and a new order Cristamonadida for devescovinid, calonymphid and lophomonad flagellates. Organisms Diversity and Evolution 1: 147–160.

[F97] Froggatt, W. W. 1897. Australian Termitidae. Part II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 21 (4): 510–552, pls 35–36.

[G70] Gay, F. J. 1970. Isoptera (termites). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 275–293. Melbourne University Press.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[H42] Hill, G. F. 1942. Termites (Isoptera) from the Australian Region (including Australia, New Guinea and islands south of the Equator between 140°E. longitude and 170°W. longitude). Commonwealth of Australia Council for Scientific and Industrial Research: Melbourne.

[IVE07] Inward, D. J. G., A. P. Vogler & P. Eggleton. 2007. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of termites (Isoptera) illuminates key aspects of their evolutionary biology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 44: 953–967.

[MS98] Margulis, L., & K. V. Schwartz. 1998. Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth 3^rd ed. W. H. Freeman and Company: New York.

[M59] Morgan, F. D. 1959. The ecology and external morphology of Stolotermes ruficeps Brauer (Isoptera: Hodotermitidae). Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 86 (1): 155–195.

[N90] Nutting, W. L. 1990. Insecta: Isoptera. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 997–1032. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[SVT04] Sornnuwat, Y., C. Vongkaluang & Y. Takematsu. 2004. A systematic key to termites of Thailand. Kasetsart Journal of Natural Science 38 (3): 349–368.

[TW05] Terry, M. D., & M. F. Whiting. 2005. Mantophasmatodea and phylogeny of the lower neopterous insects. Cladistics 21: 240–257.

[WG91] Watson, J. A. L., & F. J. Gay. 1991. Isoptera (termites). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers vol. 1 pp. 330–347. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

Last updated: 21 May 2022.