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Issue: Vol. 5787 No. 1: 2 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-02
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5787.1.6
Page range: 127-142
Abstract views: 25
PDF downloaded: 2

Two new termite species (Blattodea: Termitidae: Apicotermitinae and Mirocapritermitinae) from the Western Ghats, India

Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE); Department of Zoology; Christ College (Autonomous); (Affiliated to University of Calicut); Irinjalakuda; Thrissur; Kerala 680125; India.
Department of Zoology; MES Asmabi College; P. Vemballur; Kodungallur; Thrissur; Kerala- 680664; India.
Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology (CATE); Department of Zoology; Christ College (Autonomous); (Affiliated to University of Calicut); Irinjalakuda; Thrissur; Kerala 680125; India.
Blattodea Speculitermes Labiocapritermes endemic dichotomous key enteric valve

Abstract

Two new termite species, Speculitermes latalabrum sp. nov. from the subfamily Apicotermitinae Grassé and Noirot, 1955 and Labiocapritermes ghatensis sp. nov. belonging to the subfamily Mirocapritermitinae Kemner, 1934 are described and illustrated here based on the morphological characters of the soldiers and workers. Gut morphology of workers is also described. The genus Speculitermes Wasmann, 1902 is confined to the Oriental region, previously known from Kerala state in India by four species, S. emersoni Bose, 1984, S. sinhalensis Roonwal and Sen-Sarma, 1960, S. chadaensis Chatterjee and Thapa, 1964 and S. dharwarensis Roonwal and Chhotani, 1964. Among the total 12 species from the Oriental region, the soldier caste is hitherto known only for three species, S. dharwarensis, S. sinhalensis and S. macrodentatus Ahmad, 1965. Labiocapritermes Krishna 1968, previously monotypic and endemic to southern India is here expanded with the description of L. ghatensis sp. nov. This paper provides a dichotomous key for Speculitermes and Labiocapritermes of India and species distribution maps.

 

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How to Cite

Aiswarya, P.M., Amina, P. & Sudhikumar, A.V. (2026) Two new termite species (Blattodea: Termitidae: Apicotermitinae and Mirocapritermitinae) from the Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa, 5787 (1), 127–142. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5787.1.6