Genus Eremotermes · 漠白蚁属

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

Alate unknown (only the nymph known). Soldier: head shaped as in Mirotermes, short-cylindrical, with a distinct, rounded frontal projection, beneath which lies a rather large fontanelle opening; labrum triangular rather than bilobed; mandibles long and rod-like, symmetrical, with 1 sharp tooth at the middle directed inwards and slightly backwards; antennae 14-segmented; pronotum saddle-shaped, abdomen very thick, nearly spherical, legs short, tibiae with 2 apical spurs.

Soldier

Head as in Mirotermes, short-cylindrical, with a distinct, rounded-obtuse frontal projection, beneath which lies a rather large fontanelle opening; head hairy, the hairs denser around the fontanelle; frons descending gently forwards beneath the frontal projection. Fontanelle gland very large, extending posteriorly to the back of the neck. Labrum triangular (not bilobed as in Mirotermes). Mandibles long and rod-like, apex only slightly incurved, symmetrical; with 1 sharp tooth at the middle directed inwards and slightly backwards; mandibular base very long, as long as the rest; the boundary between base and the main body of the mandible marked by a small bend in the outer margin; molar region step-like, quadrangular. Antennae 14-segmented. Pronotum saddle-shaped. Abdomen very thick, almost spherical, its sides bulging out like inflated sacs; legs short; tibiae with 2 apical spurs; cerci short, without styli.

Worker

Head thick, broadly oval; fontanelle very far back; postclypeal basis with length equal to half its width, rather strongly arched; first mandibular tooth slightly larger than the second; antennae relatively short, with crowded segments, 14-segmented; pronotum saddle-shaped, abdomen rather thick.

Sources: Holmgren N. 1912. Termitenstudien. 3. Systematik der Termiten. Die Familie Metatermitidae. Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar 48(4): 1–166., pp. 95–96（Gattung Eremotermes；Imago unbekannt、Soldat、Arbeiter） This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.