Macrotermes vitrialatus Sjöstedt, 1899 明翼大白蚁

Species

Type locality

Democratic Republic of the Congo: "an Bord" (at the border)

Distribution

Old World tropics, Central Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español

Summary

Macrotermes vitrialatus is a species of the genus Macrotermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Macrotermitinae). The species was described by Sjöstedt in 1899; the type locality is Democratic Republic of the Congo: “an Bord” (at the border). Distribution: Old World tropics, Central Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. This site records 5 junior synonyms for the species.

Etymology

Genus name Macrotermes: From Greek makros (large) + Latin termes, ‘large termite’.

Specific epithet vitrialatus: Latin vitrum (glass) + latus (side/wing), glass-winged

Taxonomic position

• Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
• Subfamily: Macrotermitinae — 12 genera, 373 species
• Genus: Macrotermes — 57 species
• Type species of the genus: Macrotermes lilljeborgi

Distribution

• Distribution records: Old World tropics, Central Africa, East Africa, southern Africa, Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

The record above follows the wording of the original data; no geocoding or standardized place names have been applied.

Junior synonyms

This site records 5 junior synonyms for the species, listed by their original literature source:

1. Termes imperator Sjöstedt, 1913: 359-362 — type locality: Democratic Republic of the Congo: Katanga: Sankisia
2. Termes waterbergi Fuller, 1915: 466-470 — type locality: South Africa: Transvaal: Bela-Bela (Warmbaths)
3. Macrotermes schoutedeni Sjöstedt, 1924: 39 — type locality: Democratic Republic of the Congo: Boma
4. Amplitermes mozambicanus Sjöstedt, 1926: 89-90 — type locality: Mozambique: Andrada
5. Macrotermes angolensis Noirot, 1955: 142-144 — type locality: Angola: 27 km NNW Quilengues

In older literature, regional checklists and database searches, this species may appear under the synonyms above (Termes imperator, Termes waterbergi, Macrotermes schoutedeni, Amplitermes mozambicanus, Macrotermes angolensis); this site treats them all under Macrotermes vitrialatus.

Photos 4 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.

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Records follow the original literature; please attach an evidence link.

班奈特格林. Extant Isoptera (termites): a checklist of Latin and Chinese names: Macrotermes vitrialatus 明翼大白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/macrotermes-vitrialatus/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.

@misc{isoptera_macrotermes_vitrialatus_2026,
  author       = {班奈特格林},
  title        = {Macrotermes vitrialatus: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {2026.10.30},
  howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/macrotermes-vitrialatus/},
  note         = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}

TY  - ELEC
TI  - Macrotermes vitrialatus: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)
AU  - 班奈特格林
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/macrotermes-vitrialatus/
DO  - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836
ER  -