Coptotermes chaoxianensis 巢县乳白蚁
- Type locality
- China: Anhui Province: Chaoxian County
- Distribution
- Anhui, China
List: English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Coptotermes chaoxianensis is a species of the genus Coptotermes, in the family HETEROTERMITIDAE. The species was described by Huang & Li in 1985; the type locality is China: Anhui Province: Chaoxian County. Distribution: Anhui, China. This site records 1 junior synonym for the species.
Etymology
Genus name Coptotermes: From Greek koptein (to cut) + Latin termes.
Specific epithet chaoxianensis: Named after the locality Chaoxian
Taxonomic position
- Family: HETEROTERMITIDAE — 3 genera, 229 species
- Genus: Coptotermes — 58 species
- Type species of the genus: Coptotermes gestroi
Distribution
- Distribution records: Anhui, China
The record above follows the wording of the original data; no geocoding or standardized place names have been applied.
Junior synonyms
This site records 1 junior synonym for the species, listed by its original literature source:
- Coptotermes varicapitatus minutus Tsai & Li in Tsai et al., 1985: 112-113, 115-116 — type locality: China: Guangdong Province: Zengeheng County
In older literature, regional checklists and database searches, this species may appear under the synonym Coptotermes varicapitatus minutus; this site treats it under Coptotermes chaoxianensis.
Recorded in Fauna Sinica
The morphological and biological accounts below are taken from Fauna Sinica and related literature; only structure and punctuation have been standardized here.
Morphology
Soldier
Soldier: the shape of the head varies, the elongate-oval form making up about 80 per cent and the round form about 20 per cent; in round individuals the head is slightly shorter but distinctly broader and the postmentum shorter, the remaining characters being very similar in the two. Head and antennae orange-yellow, mandibles reddish brown, thoracic and abdominal tergites pale yellow. The sides of the fontanelle mostly with two bristles each, one bristle between the antenna and the fontanelle; the margin of the pronotum with sparse long bristles, the posterior half of the disc with several short hairs, the bristles of the abdominal tergites longer and denser. Whether elongate-oval or round, the head is widest at the middle, the lateral margins rounded, the posterior margin rounded out. Mandibles rather straight, their tips not distinctly curved; labrum longer than wide, reaching the middle of the mandibles; the aperture not visible in dorsal view, the aperture triangular, narrow above and broad below. Antennae with 15 segments, the 3rd and 4th almost equal or the 3rd shorter and smaller. In the elongate-oval form the waist of the postmentum lies slightly below the middle between the widest part and the posterior margin, whereas in the round form the waist clearly lies at the posterior end. Anterior margin of the pronotum with a distinct median concavity, the posterior margin slightly concave but very indistinctly so.
Alate
Alate: head brown, paler behind, labrum, antennae and pronotum yellowish brown, abdomen black, ocelli yellowish white. Head, pronotum and forewing scales with rather dense erect bristles. Head outline nearly round, a distinct elongate yellow patch between the ocelli, a crescent-shaped yellow patch faintly visible on the inner side in front of each ocellus; compound eyes oval, ocelli elongate-oval, the distance from the compound eye to the lower margin of the head almost equal to the short diameter of the ocellus. Antennae with 19–20 segments, the third or fourth shorter. Anterior margin of the pronotum a broad shallow concavity, the posterior margin slightly concave in the middle. Wing membrane densely covered with fine hairs, the media and cubitus very weak, the veins indistinct; in the forewing the media arising independently at the humeral suture and close to the cubitus, with a faint three-branched fork at its posterior end, the cubitus with eight branches; in the hindwing the media arising from the base of the radial sector, followed by two faint branches, the cubitus with 8–9 branches.
Worker
Nymph
Abstract (from the source)
The soldier has two head forms, a long-oval one and a round one, the widest point lying at mid-length in both; the round form has a broader head and a shorter postmentum. The mandibles are straight with the apex barely curved, the labrum is longer than wide, and the fontanelle opening appears in dorsal view as a triangle narrow above and wide below. The antennae have fifteen segments. The alate is brownish with blackish abdomen, a long yellow band between the ocelli, and densely hairy wing membrane.
Biology
Distribution and locality
Chaoxian, Anhui.
Taxonomic notes
Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 79 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.
Distribution map
No GBIF record with coordinates was found for this species.
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.
- Phylogeography of Coptotermes gestroi and Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Taiwan
Abstract
Abstract The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), is primarily reported from subtropical and warm temperate regions, whereas Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) is reported from many areas of the tropics. Taiwan is one of a few areas where the distributions of the two species overlap. By analyzing partial mitochondrial sequences of COII, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA, we found that most Taiwanese C. formosanus populations were closely related to Japanese and some Chinese populations and that Taiwanese C. gestroi populations were most closely related to those from the Philippines and Hawaii rather than populations from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The intraspecific variation of C. formosanus was 0.7–0.8% for three genes among seven Taiwanese populations, whereas all Taiwanese C. gestroi populations had identical sequences. The results support that Taiwan may be a center of origin for C. formosanus, but a recent introduction site for C. gestroi.
- Genetic Relationship Between Coptotermes gestroi and Coptotermes vastator (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
Abstract
The phylogenetic relationship of Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) and Coptotermes vastator Light (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) was determined using DNA sequence comparisons of mitochondrial genes. Partial sequences of the ribosomal RNA small subunit 12S, ribosomal RNA large subunit 16S, and mitochondrial COII were obtained from nine populations of C. gestroi from South East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia) and four populations of C. vastator from the Philippines and Hawaii. In addition, four populations of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Globitermes sulphureus (Haviland) were used as the outgroups. Consensus sequences were obtained and aligned. C. vastator and C. gestroi are synonymous, based on high sequence homology across the 12S, 16S, and COII genes. The interspecific pairwise sequence divergence, based on Kimura 2-parameter model between C. gestroi and C. vastator, varied only up to 0.80%. Morphometric measurements of 16 characteristics revealed numerous overlaps between the examined individuals of both species. Based on the molecular phylogenetics and morphometric data, it is proposed that C. vastator is a junior synonym of C. gestroi.
- Tunneling activity, wood consumption and survivorship of Coptotermes gestroi, Coptotermes curvignathus and Coptotermes kalshoveni (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in the laboratory
Abstract
The tunneling activity, wood consumption and survivorship of three species of subterranean termites, Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), C. curvignathus Holmgren and C. kalshoveni Kemner were compared in the laboratory using two methods: petri dish and glass jar methods. The petri dish method consisted of a 15-cm petri dish containing 5% agar and 4 rubber wood blocks placed at positions of 0, 90, 180 and 270°. The second method consisted of a glass jar containing 200 g sand moistened with 40 ml distilled water and a piece each of rubber and pine wood on the top of the sand surface. Termites were released into the dish and jar, and allowed to tunnel freely for 28 days. At the end of the experiment, the tunneling activity was semi-quantitatively ranked, the set-up was dissembled, and termite survivorship and wood consumption rate were determined. Results suggested that C. curvignathus has the most active tunneling activity, followed by C. gestroi. On the other hand, C. kalshoveni has the least tunneling activity, but highest wood consumption rate, possibly showing a higher resource fidelity. The survivorship of the termites was >75% after the 28-day experimental period.
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.
Other species in Coptotermes (57 species)
- Coptotermes acinaciformis
- Coptotermes amanii
- Coptotermes amboinensis
- Coptotermes bannaensis
- Coptotermes beckeri
- Coptotermes bentongensis
- Coptotermes boetonensis
- Coptotermes brunneus
- Coptotermes ceylonicus
- Coptotermes cooloola
- Coptotermes curvignathus
- Coptotermes cyclocoryphus
- Coptotermes dimorphus
- Coptotermes dobonicus
- Coptotermes dreghorni
- Coptotermes elisae
- Coptotermes emersoni
- Coptotermes formosanus
- Coptotermes frenchi
- Coptotermes fumipennis
- Coptotermes gambrinus
- Coptotermes gaurii
- Coptotermes gestroi
- Coptotermes grandiceps
- Coptotermes grandis
- Coptotermes guangdongensis
- Coptotermes gulangyuensis
- Coptotermes hainanensis
- Coptotermes intermedius
- Coptotermes kalshoveni
- Coptotermes kishori
- Coptotermes lacteus
- Coptotermes longignathus
- Coptotermes longistriatus
- Coptotermes mauricianus
- Coptotermes melanoistriatus
- Coptotermes menadoae
- Coptotermes michaelseni
- Coptotermes minutissimus
- Coptotermes monosetosus
57 species in this genus. See all species on the genus page →
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: Coptotermes chaoxianensis 巢县乳白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/coptotermes-chaoxianensis/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_coptotermes_chaoxianensis_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Coptotermes chaoxianensis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/coptotermes-chaoxianensis/},
note = {HETEROTERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Coptotermes chaoxianensis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/coptotermes-chaoxianensis/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -