Genus Spiralitermes · 螺旋白蚁属

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

Soldierless. The worker first proctodeal segment (P1) is extremely long, coiled into a spiral at the end of the abdomen, completing a full turn along the body axis before entering the third proctodeal segment (P3) on the right side (ventral view); the enteric valve seat is not lobed, funnel-shaped; the enteric valve bears no spines, but the proximal central region of each of the six symmetrical lobes bears spines directed towards P1 — this feature of spines directed towards P1 distinguishes it from Mangolditermes and Tucupitermes, which also have spineless enteric valves.

Worker

External morphology: head capsule pale yellow, scattered with sparse short hairs; fontanelle distinct, oval, white; postclypeus slightly swollen, with only a few short hairs; labrum convex, more coarsely setose than the head capsule; antennae 13-segmented (segment 1 > segment 2, segment 3 shorter than the remaining segments). Left mandible apical tooth slightly shorter than M1+2, with a deep notch between M1+2 and M3 typical of the Neotropical soldierless subfamily, M3 tooth indistinct, the molar prominence completely hidden by the molar ridge, its process about as long as M1+2; right mandible apical tooth longer than M1, an open angle between M1 and M2, M2 tooth triangular, molar plate concave, without grinding ridges. Thorax pale yellow, the margins of the pro-, meso- and metanotum each with a row of long hairs; tibiae and femora slender, of uniform width; the anterior surface of the fore coxa with extremely long fine hairs. Abdomen semi-transparent, tergites and sternites densely covered with short hairs, mostly directed posteriorly. Digestive tract: crop enlarged, about 1/4 of the abdominal length; gizzard reduced; proventricular valves subterminal; midgut uniform, slightly wider than P1; midgut tongue long, about 1/3 of the midgut length; P1 extremely long, visible on all four faces, distinctly S-shaped in left lateral view, forming a complete ring ventrally, entering P3 on a distinct enteric valve seat (not lobed, funnel-shaped); enteric valve without spines, with six symmetrical lobes, the proximal central region of each lobe bearing spines directed towards P1, the spines smaller the further they are from the lobe tip; P3 spherical in ventral view, connected to P4 through a distinct isthmus, forming an inverted U-shaped dorsal loop; P4 smaller in diameter than the midgut, making a short U-turn. Measurements (worker, mm, n=30, means in parentheses): head width 0.68–0.90 (0.80), head length 0.75–0.85 (0.83), hind tibia length 0.73–0.85 (0.78), pronotum width 0.43–0.48 (0.46), fore tibia width/length ratio 0.24–0.36 (0.30).

Sources: Almeida-Azevedo R.; Rocha M.; de Morais J. W.; de Azevedo R. A. 2026. Spiralitermes jurupari, a New Genus and Species of Soldierless Termites (Blattodea: Termitidae) From the Amazon Rainforest. Austral Entomology 65: e70084., pp. 3–5 This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.