Genus Paracapritermes · 旁扭白蚁属

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

Soldier mandibles asymmetrical—the left mandible long, hooked apically and with a prominent tooth-like process at the base, the right mandible short with a distinct basal notch; head with well-developed frontal tubercles, pointed and upturned apically (most developed in P. kraepelinii), the fontanelle opening beneath the frontal tubercles; antennae 14-segmented. Alate with the third marginal tooth of the left mandible well developed and the second marginal tooth of the right mandible weakened, most closely related to Protocapritermes (Ahmad 1950 regarded it as the most primitive member of the Capritermes complex, which Krishna 1968 rejected on the basis of mandibular dentition).

Alate

Small, dark brown; head densely hairy, with stiff bristles interspersed; frontal plate distinct, narrow and elliptical; compound eyes small; antennae 15-segmented, segment 3 the shortest. Apical tooth of the left mandible slightly shorter than the fused first and second marginal teeth, the third marginal tooth well developed; second marginal tooth of the right mandible slightly reduced.

Soldier

Head with well-developed frontal tubercles, pointed and upturned apically; fontanelle situated beneath the frontal tubercles; anterior margin of the labrum nearly straight or slightly angular, in some individuals slightly concave at the middle, the anterolateral corners slightly pointed; mandibles asymmetrical, pointed and hooked apically; left mandible with a prominent tooth-like process at the base, moderately curved at the middle with the outer margin strongly arcuate (P. primus) or slightly curved at the middle (P. kraepelinii); right mandible shorter than the left, with a distinct basal notch; antennae 14-segmented, segment 4 the shortest and segment 3 about equal to segment 2; tibial spur formula 3:2:2, the middle tibia with 1 spine in P. primus and 2 spines in P. kraepelinii.

Sources: Krishna, K. 1968. Phylogeny and generic reclassification of the Capritermes complex (Isoptera, Termitidae, Termitinae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 138: 265–330., pp. 271–274 This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.