Genus Bifiditermes · 双裂白蚁属
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Distribution map
Photographs 13 photos · 1 species
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About the genus
This genus belongs to the family Kalotermitidae 木白蚁科; the site records 12 species.
Type species: Bifiditermes madagascariensis.
This page includes a distribution map for the genus (GBIF records aggregated on a 1° grid); open a species entry to see its type locality, distribution, and references.
Etymology
From Latin bifidus (cleft in two) + termes.
The etymologies in this section are analytical breakdowns; the roots follow Brown (1956).
Morphology
The descriptions below are an adaptation of the original genus-level accounts; terms follow the meaning of the source, and the original is not transcribed verbatim.
Diagnostic characters
Closely related to Epicalotermes and Bicornitermes; the alate has a shorter anterior margin of the third marginal tooth of the left mandible than Epicalotermes; the soldier has a thicker head and less strongly curved mandibles than Epicalotermes; the soldier of Bicornitermes has a shorter, more truncate head and short mandibles, and the anterior margin of the pronotum is serrate.
Alate
Light brown to dark brown; eye diameter 0.37–0.64 mm, ocelli usually touching the compound eyes; antennae 15–20-segmented; anterior margin of the third marginal tooth of the left mandible distinctly longer than the posterior margin of the first and second marginal teeth (not more than 1.5 times as long); molar plate of the right mandible distinctly smaller than the posterior margin of the second marginal tooth; pronotum as wide as the head or slightly wider; wings transparent, slightly iridescent, usually covered with colourless papillae, pigmented in a few species; media and cubitus with a common stalk beyond the wing suture; arolium absent.
Soldier
Head long and thick, sides straight and parallel; frontal region rugose, concave in the middle, inclined downwards at about 45°; dorsolateral frontal angles slightly raised in some species; eyes large, pigmented or colourless; antennae 10–18-segmented, the third segment longest and club-shaped; mandibles long, the outer margin almost straight, curved near the apex, with a basal tubercle, dentition variable; pronotum transversely arched, anterior margin deeply or broadly concave, sides rounded; femora not inflated.
Sources: Krishna K. 1961. A generic revision and phylogenetic study of the family Kalotermitidae (Isoptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 122: 303–408., pp. 366–368 This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.
Species (12)
- Bifiditermes angulatus Wilkinson, 1959 角状双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes beesoni Gardner, 1945 比森双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes durbanensis Haviland, 1898 德班双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes improbus Hagen, 1858 不诚双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes indicus Holmgren, 1913 印度双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes jeannelanus Sjöstedt, 1915 让内尔双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes madagascariensis Wasmann, 1897 马达加斯加双裂白蚁 ★ Type species
- Bifiditermes mutubae Harris, 1948 榕树双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes pintoi Kemner, 1932 平托双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes rogierae Hollande, 1982 罗吉尔双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes sibayiensis Coaton, 1949 斯巴艺双裂白蚁
- Bifiditermes sylvaticus Wilkinson, 1959 森林双裂白蚁
Parent level: Checklist index · Kalotermitidae 木白蚁科 · Data & downloads