Disjunctitermes insularis 岛生间断白蚁
- Type locality
- Guadeloupe (French): Basse-Terre: Trail Mamelles de Petite Bourg. Parc Nat. [ 16.1778N 61.7321W ]
- Distribution
- Brazil, Amazon region, Central America and Caribbean
List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Disjunctitermes insularis is the only extant species of the genus Disjunctitermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Apicotermitinae). The species was described by Scheffrahn in 2017; the type locality is Guadeloupe (French): Basse-Terre: Trail Mamelles de Petite Bourg. Parc Nat. [ 16.1778N 61.7321W ]. Distribution: Brazil, Amazon region, Central America and Caribbean.
Etymology
Genus name Disjunctitermes: From Latin disjunctus (disjoined) + termes.
Specific epithet insularis: Latin insularis (of islands)
Taxonomic position
- Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
- Subfamily: Apicotermitinae — 68 genera, 241 species
- Genus: Disjunctitermes — monotypic, 1 species
Distribution
- Distribution records: Brazil, Amazon region, Central America and Caribbean
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
Among the Neotropical apicotermitines, like Anoplotermes banksi, A. pacificus and Hydrecotermes spp., it has a strongly inflated fore tibia and an enteric valve without spines or sclerotisation. It is closest to A. banksi but distinguished by the accessory (fourth) marginal tooth of the left mandible, the larger enteric valve seating and the more truncate end of P2; Hydrecotermes lacks a spherical mesenteric tongue.
Worker
Monotypic, small. Head capsule pale yellow, with about 100 setae of varying length; postclypeus moderately inflated; fontanelle almost indiscernible; antennal segments 14. The apical tooth of the left mandible is widely separated from marginal tooth 1, both long, clearly exceeding the line joining marginal tooth 3 and the molar prominence; above the molar prominence there is an additional accessory (fourth) marginal tooth, visible in both dorsal and ventral view. The apical tooth of the right mandible is much longer than marginal tooth 1, and marginal tooth 3 is nearly symmetrical. Fore tibia strongly inflated, about 3 times as long as its greatest (median) width. Mesenteric tongue spherical. P2 enters through a large, stout trilobed enteric valve seating, two lobes of which are visible through the body wall; the enteric valve consists of 6 slender, inflated pads facing the valve lumen; the posterior end of P2 (including the enteric valve) is truncate, extending about halfway into the seating. Measurements: species-level (Table 2, 12 workers from each of 11 colonies; holotype head width 0.64 mm).
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.
Photos 3 photos
Freely licensed photos, click to enlarge. Hotlinked from iNaturalist / Wikimedia Commons; the rights stay with the photographers — author, licence and source page are shown under each photo.
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.
- Disjunctitermes insularis, a new soldierless termite genus and species (Isoptera, Termitidae, Apicotermitinae) from Guadeloupe and Peru
Abstract
Disjunctitermes insularis gen. n. & sp. n. is described from workers collected on Guadeloupe and in Peru and is the first soldierless termite found on a deep-water island. As with many soldierless and soil-feeding termite species, the enteric valve morphology is an essential diagnostic character of D. insularis. The D. insularis sequence cluster, derived from a barcode analysis with twelve other described genera of New World Apicotermitinae, is well resolved. Results of a stochastic dynamic spread model suggest that the occurrence of D. insularis on Guadeloupe may be the result of a pre-Colombian overwater dispersal event from mainland South America.
- Ekueitermes alerosinus, a new genus and species of soldierless termite from Colombia (Isoptera, Termitidae, Apicotermitinae)
Abstract
A new genus and species of soldierless termite, Ekueitermes alerosinus gen. et sp. nov., is described from Colombia based on morphological and molecular evidence. The diagnostic characters for the new taxon are a mixed segment with a short, non-inflated mesenteric tongue, a very short and tubular P1, a well-differentiated tubular enteric valve seating, and an enteric valve armature with six cushions armed with 7–17 sclerotised spines arranged in a palmate shape and polygonal scales. Furthermore, Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis using concatenated COI and 16S genes, including other Neotropical Apicotermitinae genera described to date, supports the new genus as a distinct terminal and the sister group to Disjunctitermes insularis.
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: Disjunctitermes insularis 岛生间断白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/disjunctitermes-insularis/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_disjunctitermes_insularis_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Disjunctitermes insularis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/disjunctitermes-insularis/},
note = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Disjunctitermes insularis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/disjunctitermes-insularis/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -