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Issue: Vol. 7 No. 1: February 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-02-27
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.7.1.5
Page range: 80-91
Abstract views: 92
PDF downloaded: 3

Hodotermopsid termites from the mid-Cretaceous Hkamti and Kachin ambers (Isoptera: Hodotermopsidae)

Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024, USA; Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université des Antilles, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université des Antilles, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France; Institut des Sciences de l’Évolution (UMR 5554), Université de Montpellier, CNRS, F-34095 Montpellier, France; Géosciences Rennes (UMR 6118), Université de Rennes, CNRS, F-35000 Rennes, France
Albian Blattodea Cenomanian Myanmar taxonomy Teletisoptera

Abstract

The past diversity of Isoptera stands in stark contrast to their extant diversity as the number of fossil termite species is relatively low. Many early-diverging families are unknown from the Cretaceous, a crucial period encompassing the origins of many extant lineages. Therefore, the study of their past diversity dynamics, leading to their present-day diversity, and origin remains shrouded by a dearth of fossil evidence. Here, we report two new taxa of Hodotermopsidae from the Albian Hkamti and mid-Cretaceous Kachin ambers: Hodotermopsella novella gen. et sp. nov. and Tyrannotermes spinifer gen. et sp. nov., the former placed in a new subfamily, Hodotermopsellinae subfam. nov. These new species include the earliest occurrences of Hodotermopsidae in the fossil record. We propose new synonymizations for Cretaceous genera from China Jitermes Ren (= Huaxiatermes Ren and Asiatermes Ren, both syn. nov.) and Meiatermes Lacasa Ruiz & Martínez-Delclòs (= Caatingatermes Martins-Neto, Ribeiro-Júnior & Prezoto, Araripetermes Martins-Neto, Ribeiro-Júnior & Prezoto, Nordestinatermes Martins-Neto, Ribeiro-Júnior & Prezoto, all syn. nov.), and revise the status of the Carinatermitidae stat. nov. We discuss the systematic placement of the Pabuonqedidae as well as the implications of the new hodotermopsids on future divergence-time estimates for Teletisoptera and Isoptera.

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