Genus Postsubulitermes · 后锥白蚁属

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

Established by Emerson 1960 and supplemented by Sands 1965: the soldier is monomorphic, the nasus slenderly cylindrical, tapering forwards to a fine point, the mandibles without a point, the anterior margin of the labrum evenly rounded, the head capsule hardly constricted behind the antennal fossae and slightly raised at the base of the nasus, the antennae 12-segmented, the setae very few (a pair on the dorsum of the head, one to two pairs at the base of the nasus, a few at its tip); in the alate the postclypeus is moderately arched, twice as wide as long, its anterior margin wavy and convex in the middle, the fontanelle a long Y, the compound eyes not projecting beyond the sides of the head, the pilosity extremely fine and sparse (3 hairs on each eye, 2 pairs on the vertex, 1 pair on the postclypeus), the lateral margins of the pronotum contracted posteriorly, whose length is less than two-thirds of its width; in the worker the apical tooth of the left mandible is much longer than the first marginal tooth (index 2.63), the cutting edge between the first and third marginal teeth is entire and concave, the gap between the third marginal tooth and the molar process is extremely narrow, the second marginal tooth of the right mandible is missing, and the molar plate has a weak basal concavity, a weak anterior and a strong rounded posterior ridge, and no transverse ridges. Emerson adds: the head is dark brown and the pronotum yellow, in striking contrast; the soldier head is 1.39–1.53 mm long and 0.55–0.60 mm wide, the pronotum 0.34–0.39 mm, the hind tibia 0.71–0.79 mm.

Alate

The head and postclypeus bear sparse short hairs and several long setae; the pronotum bears several long setae near its lateral and posterior margins and a few short hairs on its surface; the abdominal tergites and sternites both bear numerous long setae or hairs of nearly equal length. The ocelli are large and distinct, separated from the compound eyes by less than half their width, slightly larger than the antennal fossae. The fontanelle is pale brown, elongate, forked at its end, set in a shallow depression on the vertex. The postclypeus is about half as long as wide (0.18 mm × 0.36 mm). The lateral margins of the pronotum are fairly straight and contracted posteriorly, the posterior angles rounded, the posterior margin slightly concave; the posterior angles of the mesonotum are slightly less than a right angle and its median concavity slightly greater than a right angle; the posterior angles of the metanotum are more rounded, about equal to a right angle, and its median concavity greater than that of the mesonotum. Tibial spur formula 2:2:2. The antennae of the specimen are broken off.

Soldier

Setae and short hairs are scattered over the face of the head; there are several hairs at the tip of the frontal projection but no short hairs in the middle or at its base. The pronotum bears a few short hairs, more numerous anteriorly. Each abdominal tergite bears a row of posterior marginal setae and scattered hairs about one-third their length; the setae and hairs of the sternites are both longer than those of the tergites, the hairs about half as long as the setae. The head is oval in dorsal view, the frontal projection slender and slightly tapering forwards, a slight constriction visible behind the antennal fossae (both in dorsal and in lateral view). Antennae 12-segmented. The mandibles are without a point. The anterior margin of the pronotum is very shallowly and indistinctly concave. Tibial spur formula 2:2:2. The head is dark brown and the pronotum yellow, in striking contrast.

Worker

The apical tooth of the mandibles is proportionally longer than in Afrosubulitermes and Verrucositermes; in the left mandible the third marginal tooth is indistinct, the cutting edge between the first and third marginal teeth is entire and concave, and the gap between the third marginal tooth and the molar process is extremely narrow; in the right mandible the second marginal tooth is missing, the molar plate has a weak concavity near the base, the anterior ridge weak and the posterior ridge strong and rounded, and there are no transverse ridges. Left mandibular index 2.63.

Sources: Emerson, A.E. 1960. New genera on the Subulitermes branch of the Nasutitermitinae from the Ethiopian region (Isoptera, Termitidae). American Museum Novitates, 1987: 1–20., p. 10–12（Genus Postsubulitermes: Imago, Soldier, Worker）；Sands 1965: p. 55–56（属征与比较） This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.