Genus Pseudacanthotermes · 伪刺白蚁属

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 key difference from the nominotypical subgenus Acanthotermes is the absence of outwardly projecting spines on the sides of the mesonotum and metanotum (present in Acanthotermes s. str.). Major soldier with black mandibles, the left mandible coarsely toothed; pronotal anterior margin with two large spines, the sides sharp and converging posteriorly. The genus as a whole thrives in both rainforest and savanna, building large fungus combs in the nest.

Soldier

Major soldier: head rectangular, red-yellow-brown; antennae 19–21-segmented; labrum broad, with a hyaline tip; mandibles black, the left mandible coarsely toothed; short hairs around the fontanelle, with a spine in front; the sides of the mesonotum and metanotum sharp but without lateral spines; pronotal anterior margin with two large spines, the sides sharp and converging posteriorly. Measurements (mm): head length 3.67–4.00, head width 1.83–2.10, pronotum (including spines) 1.00, pronotum at mid-length 1.67, pronotum width 1.30–1.60, hind tibia 2.00–2.20, left mandible 1.33–1.37.

Alate

Head dark brown, mandibles yellow with black tips; antennae 23-segmented (segment 2 longer than segment 3, segments 3 and 4 equal in length); eyes relatively small, their distance from the lower margin equal to their distance from the ocelli; ocelli elongate seen from above, oval seen from the side, their distance from the eye greater than their diameter; labrum yellow; postclypeus yellow, contrasting strongly with the head, with a median line; pronotal anterior margin concave in the middle, the sides straight and converging posteriorly, posterior margin broadly concave; posterior margins of the mesonotum and metanotum broadly concave; wing membrane pale and transparent, the costa, radius and basal veins opaque brown to yellow. Measurements (mm): length with wings 29.00, length without wings 15.00, head length 2.78, head width 2.20–2.30, antennae 3.80, eye diameter 0.53–0.55, pronotum 1.27×2.00–2.20, hind tibia 3.00, left mandible 1.33, forewing 22.00–23.00×5.50; posterior length 52.00, abdominal width 17.00.

Sources: Emerson, A. E. 1928. Termites of the Belgian Congo and the Cameroon. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 57: 401–574., pp. 433–435 This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.