Aganotermes oryctes 挖者雅白蚁
- Type locality
- South Africa: Transvaal: Letaba
- Distribution
- South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Aganotermes oryctes is the only extant species of the genus Aganotermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Apicotermitinae). The species was described by Sands in 1972; the type locality is South Africa: Transvaal: Letaba. Distribution: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Etymology
Genus name Aganotermes: Etymology uncertain; -termes from Latin termes.
Specific epithet oryctes: Greek oryktēs (digger)
Taxonomic position
- Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
- Subfamily: Apicotermitinae — 68 genera, 241 species
- Genus: Aganotermes — monotypic, 1 species
Distribution
- Distribution records: South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
The record above follows the wording of the original data; no geocoding or standardized place names have been applied.
Morphology
The description below is paraphrased from the original or a later revision, by caste; the source is cited at the end.
Diagnostic characters
Monotypic genus, somewhat close to Adynatotermes and to some species of Astalotermes, but readily recognised by the long mandibular apical tooth. Another genus with an equally long apical tooth is Acholotermes, in which the meso- and metanotal plates are narrower and the ocellus is farther from the compound eye; the worker enteric valve seat has a shorter neck and lies more ventrally. Asagarotermes and Amicotermes also have a long apical tooth, but in both the left accessory marginal tooth is clearly free of the molar prominence, the ocellus is closer to the compound eye, the postclypeus is more inflated, and the worker enteric valve has its own peculiar structure in each.
Worker
Large, W 0.86–0.94 mm. Fore tibia scarcely inflated, Ti/Tw 5.00–5.53, with 3 apical spurs, the third about 1/3 the length of the other two. Mandibular apical tooth very long, La/Li 0.97–1.00, Ra/Ri 1.25–1.29; the proximal end of the left accessory marginal tooth level with the margin of the molar prominence; right marginal tooth 1 with the anterior margin longer than that of marginal tooth 2. The midgut–hindgut overlap is about twice the midgut width or slightly more, the proximal hindgut lying within the Malpighian knot, to the left. Enteric valve seat with two very weak lobes, joined by a very short neck to the second hindgut pouch, ventral in the unopened abdomen; enteric valve inner pads without spines, the surface scaly.
Alate
Large, W 1.11–1.23 mm. Fore tibia with 3 apical spurs, the third well developed, slightly shorter than the other two. Mandibular apical tooth long, La/Li 0.79–0.83, Ra/Ri 1.11–1.19; the proximal end of the left accessory marginal tooth level with the margin of the molar prominence; right mandibular apical tooth in line with the marginal tooth apices, marginal tooth 1 with the anterior margin longer than that of marginal tooth 2. Meso- and metanotal plates narrow at the constriction, M/W 0.21–0.24, transverse suture absent. Ocellus far from the compound eye.
This genus is monotypic, containing only this species; the following is the genus-level description based on the original literature; species-level measurements and intraspecific variation are given in the original.
Distribution map
Aggregated from GBIF occurrence records on a 1° grid; only extant taxa of this checklist are used, so fossil records are excluded. Dot size and shade show the number of records inside a cell.
Related papers
Cached papers for this genus (matched automatically, for reference); to search this species with its junior synonyms merged in, use the literature search.
Papers on this species, synonyms included → OpenAlex Google Scholar CNKI
Abstracts come from open metadata; copyright remains with the original authors/publishers. For reference only — please check the original.
Cite this species
Citation strings are generated from the fields of this page; please keep the DOI and the version number when citing.
GB/T 7714
班奈特格林. Extant Isoptera (termites): a checklist of Latin and Chinese names: Aganotermes oryctes 挖者雅白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/aganotermes-oryctes/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_aganotermes_oryctes_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Aganotermes oryctes: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/aganotermes-oryctes/},
note = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Aganotermes oryctes: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/aganotermes-oryctes/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -