Coptotermes

Castes of Coptotermes acinaciformis, from CSIRO.

Belongs within: Rhinotermitidae.

Coptotermes is a genus of drywood termites in which soldiers bear a large fontanelle opening near the front of the head.

Characters (from Maiti 2006): Imago with head dark to dark brown, head and pronotum fairly densely and abdomen densely hairy. Head subround. Eyes of medium size. Ocelli either subround or elongately oval, either almost touching or slightly separated from eyes. Fontanelle minute, placed almost at middle of head. Mandibles each with an apical and three marginal teeth. Left with apical only slightly longer than first marginal and almost equal to or slightly shorter than or subequal to second and third marginal. Right with apical thinner and slightly shorter than second, first marginal rudimentary placed at anterior base of second, third smaller with long posterior margin, generally longer than molar plate. Postclypeus flat or weakly swollen with or without median line. Apical tibial spur formula 3:2:2. Wings generally moderate to densely hairy, all veins arising independently from scale. In fore wing, costa and subcosta merged, strongly chitinised, running along anterior margin. Radius thick and running parallel and close to costa and subcosta. Medial thin and with one to three branches distally, cubitus also weak and with six to thirteen branches to posterior margin. Hind wing as in fore wing except medial arising from radius just outside scale. Soldier with head light yellow to deep brown in colour, moderately to densely hair, pyriform to broadly oval. Eyes generally absent, eye spots at times visible. Ocelli absent. Fontanelle large with round to oval large opening placed far anteriorly. Mandibles sabre-shaped, gradually narrowing anteriorly and strongly to weakly hooked at apices, left with a few to maximum of four crenulations in basal half and with a large knob-like projection. Right with a few basal crenulations also. Antennae with 13–17 segments, 3–4 variable in shape and size. Postmentum long and club-shaped with distinct widest and narrowest width, sometimes with hairs anteriorly. Pronotum narrower than head, flat, sometimes a little raised on anterior margin, anterior margin with median notch and posterior margin with weak median emargination.

<==Coptotermes Wasmann 1896 M06 (see below for synonymy)
    |--C. sjostedti Holmgren 1911 IVE07, M06 [incl. C. sjostedti var. modica M06]
    `--+--C. acinaciformis (Froggatt 1898) IVE07, M06 (see below for synonymy)
       |    |--C. a. acinaciformis M06
       |    `--C. a. raffrayi Wasmann 1900 [=Termes (Coptotermes) raffrayi] M06
       `--+--C. niger Snyder 1922 IVE07, M06
          `--C. testaceus (Linnaeus 1758) IVE07, M06 (see below for synonymy)

Coptotermes incertae sedis:
  *C. gestroi (Wasmann 1896) [=Termes (*Coptotermes) gestroi] M06
  C. amanii (Sjöstedt 1911) (see below for synonymy) M06
  C. amboinensis Kemner 1931 M06
  C. bannaensis Xia & He 1986 [=[=C. (Oligocrinitermes) bannaensis] XH86
  C. beckeri Mathur & Chhotani 1969 M06
  C. bentongensis Krishna 1956 M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) bentongensis XH86]
  C. boetonensis Kemner 1934 M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) boetonensis XH86]
  C. bornensis Oshima 1914 M06
  C. brevis DAF07
  C. brunneus Gay 1955 M06
  C. ceylonicus Holmgren 1911 XH86, M06 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) ceylonicus] XH86
  C. changtaiensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) changtaiensis] XH86
  C. chaoxianensis Huang & Li 1985 [=C. varicapitatus chaoxianensis, [=C. (Polycrinitermes) chaoxianensis] XH86
  C. cochlearus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) cochlearus] XH86
  C. communis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) communis] XH86
  C. crassus Snyder 1922 M06
  C. ‘crassus’ Ping 1985 non Snyder 1922 M06
  C. curvignathus Holmgren 1913 M06 (see below for synonymy)
  C. cyclocoryphus Zhu et al. 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) cyclocoryphus] XH86
  C. dimorphus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) dimorphus] XH86
  C. dobonicus Oshima 1914 M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) dobonicus XH86]
  C. dreghorni Hill 1942 M06
  C. elisae (Desneux 1905) M06 [=Termes (Coptotermes) elisae M06; incl. C. hyaloapex Holmgren 1911 M06, H42]
  C. emersoni Ahmad 1953 M06
  C. eucalyptus Ping 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) eucalyptus] XH86
  C. formosanus Shiraki 1909 XH86 (see below for synonymy)
  C. gaurii Roonwal & Krishna 1956 [incl. C. exignus Jepson 1930, C. exiguus] M06
  C. grandiceps Snyder 1925 [incl. C. froggatti Light & Davis 1929, C. solomonensis Snyder 1925] M06
  C. grandis Li & Huang 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) grandis] XH86
  C. guangdongensis Ping 1985 M06
  C. guanzhouensis Ping 1985 M06
  C. hainanensis Li & Tsai 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) hainanensis] XH86
  C. harrisi M06
  C. havilandi Holmgren 1911 [incl. C. javanicus Kemner 1934, C. pacificus Light 1932] M06
  C. heimi (Wasmann 1902) [=*Arrhinotermes heimi; incl. C. parvulus Holmgren 1913] M06
  C. hekouensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) hekouensis] XH86
  C. heteromorphus Ping 1985 M06
  C. intermedius Silvestri 1912 [incl. C. truncatus var. reducta Sjostedt 1926, C. reductus] M06
  C. jiaxingensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) jiaxingensis] XH86
  C. kalshoveni Kemner 1934 M06
  C. kishori Roonwal & Chhotani 1962 M06
  C. labiosus Hill 1926 H42 [incl. C. flavus Hill 1926 non Bugnion & Popeff 1910 M06, C. frenchi Hill 1932 M06]
  C. lacteus (Froggatt 1898) [=Termes lacteus; incl. C. sedulus Hill 1923] M06
  C. longignathus Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) longignathus] XH86
  C. longistriatus Li & Huang 1985 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) longistriatus] XH86
  C. menadoensis Oshima 1914 M06
  C. menglunensis Tsai & Huang 1985 (see below for synonymy) XH86
  C. michaelseni Silvestri 1909 M06
  C. minutissimus Kemner 1934 M06
  C. minutus Li & Huang 1985 [=C. varicapitatus minutus, C. (Polycrinitermes) minutus] XH86
  C. monosetosus Tsai & Li 1985 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) monosetosus] XH86
  C. obiratus Hill 1927 M06
  C. obliquus Xia & He 1986 [=[=C. (Oligocrinitermes) obliquus] XH86
  C. ochraceus Ping & Xu 1986 M06
  C. pamuae Snyder 1925 M06
  C. parradoxus M06
  C. perigrenator Kemner 1943 M06
  C. premrasmii Ahmad 1965 XH86, M06 [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) premrasmii XH86]
  C. priscus Emerson 1971 P92
  C. rectangularis Ping & Xu 1986 M06
  C. remotus Hill 1927 M06
  C. reticulatus M06
  C. sepangensis Krishna 1956 M06
  C. shanghaiensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) shanghaiensis] XH86
  C. sinabangensis Oshima 1923 M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) sinabangensis XH86]
  C. sucineus Emerson 1971 P92
  C. suzhouensis Xia & He 1986 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) suzhouensis] XH86
  C. travians (Haviland 1898) [=Termes (Coptotermes) travians] M06
  C. truncatus (Wasmann 1897) [=Termes (Coptotermes) truncatus, Eutermes truncatus] M06
  C. vastator Light 1929 M06
  C. xiaoliangensis Ping 1984 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) xiaoliangensis] XH86

Coptotermes Wasmann 1896 M06 [incl. Arrhinotermes Wasmann 1902 M06, Oligocrinitermes Xia & He 1986 (n. n.) XH86, Polycrinitermes Xia & He 1986 (n. n.) XH86, Vastitermes Sjöstedt 1926 M06; Coptotermitinae]

Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt 1898) IVE07, M06 [=Termes acinaciformis M06, T. (Eutermes) acinaciformis M06]

Coptotermes amanii (Sjöstedt 1911) [=Eutermes (Coptotermes) amanii; incl. C. sjostedti var. subintactae Silvestri 1914-1915] M06

Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren 1913 M06 [=C. (Polycrinitermes) curvignathus XH86; incl. C. robustus Holmgren 1913 M06]

Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki 1909 XH86 [=[=C. (Polycrinitermes) formosanus XH86; incl. C. formosae Holmgren 1911 M06, C. hongkonensis Oshima 1914 M06, C. intrudens Oshima 1920 M06]

Coptotermes menglunensis Tsai & Huang 1985 [=C. monosetosus menglunensis, [=C. (Oligocrinitermes) menglunensis] XH86

Coptotermes testaceus (Linnaeus 1758) IVE07, M06 [=Hemerobius testaceus M06, Termes (Eutermes) testaceus M06; incl. Perla fusca De Geer 1778 M06, T. (E.) marabitanus Hagen 1858 M06, Coptotermes marabitanus M06, T. morio Fabricius 1793 M06]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[DAF07] Department of Agriculture and Food. 2007. Common Seasonal Pests. State of Western Australia.

[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.

[M06] Maiti, P. K. 2006. A taxonomic monograph on the world species of termites of the family Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera: Insecta). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 20 (4): i–viii, 1–272.

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

[XH86] Xia K.-L. & He X.-S. 1986. Study on the genus Coptotermes from China (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Contr. Shanghai Inst. Entomol. 6: 157–182.