Genus Firmitermes · 坚白蚁属

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

The soldier is closely allied to Hoplognathotermes and shows no genus-level difference in head shape, but the pilosity of the face of the head, the postmentum and the fore coxae is far richer, the postmentum bears transverse wrinkles over its whole length, the labrum is broad and rounded, without lateral angles or apical projections, and the base of the mandibles is short and thick; the alate is described only on the basis of the provisionally assigned 'Eutermes' tripolitanus, whose left mandible has a third marginal tooth proportionally far larger than in any known genus of the Amitermitinae or the Termitinae.

Alate

The following generic characters presuppose the provisional assignment of 'Eutermes' tripolitanus to this genus. The apical teeth of both mandibles are smaller and finer than in the workers of Hoplognathotermes and Acutidentitermes and lie closer to the first marginal tooth; the angle between the apical tooth and the first marginal tooth of the left mandible is more acute; the actual lengths of the first and second marginal teeth of the left mandible are similar to those of Acutidentitermes, but the notch before the third marginal tooth is less sharp and the apical margin of the third marginal tooth is longer (that of Acutidentitermes being distinctly convex and short); the third marginal tooth is proportionally far larger than in any known genus of the Amitermitinae or the Termitinae; beneath the concave ridge between the third marginal tooth and the molar plate of the left mandible there are 2 small projections, with a concave margin between them (Acutidentitermes has only 1 projection beneath the basal molar plate); the first marginal tooth of the right mandible shows traces of a reduced accessory tooth near the angle where it meets the apical tooth; the second marginal tooth is concave on both its anterior and posterior margins, whereas that of Acutidentitermes is convex and blunt with nearly straight margins; the concavity of the upper margin of the basal plate of the right mandible is weaker than in Acutidentitermes. The fore tibiae each bear 3 spurs, the mid and hind tibiae 2 each.

Soldier

The face, vertex, sides of the head and postmentum bear numerous scattered short hairs and setae, whereas in Hoplognathotermes subterraneus and Acutidentitermes osborni the face bears very few setae and the postmentum is almost hairless. On the fore coxa, the section of the flat-convex apical part shows 3–4 setae, the section of the sharply convex basal part bears a few setae and short hairs, the longitudinal ridge is rounded and blunt, and a few very short hairs are visible when the coxa is rotated. The head shape shows no genus-level difference from Hoplognathotermes, the anterior part being flatter, without marked ridges or tubercles; the fontanelle is small and indistinct. The postmentum is constricted in the middle, its sides fairly concave (slightly deeper than in Hoplognathotermes), and bears a series of indistinct transverse wrinkles over its whole length, whereas H. subterraneus has transverse wrinkles only posteriorly and the postmentum of A. osborni is globular and without transverse wrinkles. The labrum is proportionally as broad as in H. subterraneus but its margin is more rounded, without the lateral angles and apical projection of the latter or of A. osborni. The postclypeus is distinct and the suture between it and the frons is not lost. The base of the mandibles is proportionally short and thick, the outer margin fairly strongly convex, and the junction between the apical and basal parts lacks the angular notch found in Hoplognathotermes or Acutidentitermes; the apical process is shorter and thicker than in either, its outer margin more curved; the tooth base of the type specimen is broken off, so the tooth form cannot be known, but the small notch between the apical margin and the tooth of the right mandible indicates an angle close to that of H. subterraneus and unlike the more acute angle of A. osborni; the tooth-like projection at the base is indistinct or absent. The pronotum is smaller and narrower than in H. subterraneus, its anterior lobe equally large and the median concavity of its anterior margin equally small and shallow; the angle between the anterior lobe and the posterior part in lateral view is less acute than in H. subterraneus, being nearly flat-concave. The fore coxa has no projection, its longitudinal ridge being fairly rounded and blunt, not as sharp and long as in H. subterraneus; the section of the ridge is flat-convex from the trochanteral region to the middle and turns flat-concave towards the basal outer angle. The fore tibiae bear 3 apical spurs, the outer spur extremely short and visible only on careful manipulation; the mid and hind tibiae bear 2 each.

Sources: Emerson A. E. 1959. The African termite genera Firmitermes, Hoplognathotermes, Acutidentitermes, Duplidentitermes, and Heimitermes (Termitidae, Termitinae). American Museum Novitates 1947: 1–43., pp. 4–6（Imago、Soldier 两节；p. 4 起为 Imago，p. 4 末至 p. 6 为 Soldier） This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.