Polyspathotermes umbratus Williams, 1954 荫生多铲白蚁

Species

Type locality: Tanzania: East Usambara: Mt. Daluni
Distribution: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania

List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español

Summary

Polyspathotermes umbratus is a species of the genus Polyspathotermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Cubitermitinae). The species was described by Williams in 1954; the type locality is Tanzania: East Usambara: Mt. Daluni. Distribution: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania.

Etymology

Genus name Polyspathotermes: From Greek polys (many) + spathē (spatula) + Latin termes.

Specific epithet umbratus: Latin umbratus (shaded)

Taxonomic position

Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
Subfamily: Cubitermitinae — 28 genera, 149 species
Genus: Polyspathotermes — 8 species
Type species of the genus: Polyspathotermes sulcifrons

Distribution

Distribution records: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania

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

Morphology

A species-level description from the original literature has not yet been compiled for this page. Original description: Williams, 1954. See the genus page for the genus-level description; this page will be updated after the original text is checked.

Distribution map

No GBIF record with coordinates was found for this species.

Other databases

The links below are produced by matching the scientific name against public APIs, for cross-checking. The checklist data itself is unchanged.

GBIF BackboneNo link: only the higher taxon Polyspathotermes Josens & Deligne, 2021 is in GBIF, which has no separate record for this species.
Catalogue of Life Polyspathotermes umbratus (Williams, 1954) accepted
World checklist Blattodea Species FilePolyspathotermes umbratus (Williams, 1954) validauto-matched

⚠ GBIF currently lists only the higher taxon. Typically a name is recently described, rarely recorded, or not yet indexed externally; our record is unaffected.

Sources：GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · Catalogue of Life (3LR, 2026-10-14 · doi:10.48580/dgzh4) · Wikidata (P225) · Blattodea Species File. Retrieved on 2026-11-13 (UTC). Matching method and decision rules are described on the data page.

Name discrepancies: 1 pending checks for this species →

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

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.

Phylogeny and revision of the ‘ Cubitermes complex’ termites ( Termitidae : Cubitermitinae )
Simon Hellemans, Jean Deligne, Yves Roisin, Guy Josens · 2021 · Systematic Entomology
Abstract
The phylogeny of the genus Cubitermes Wasmann was reconstructed using two mitochondrial genes ( COI and COII ) and a fragment of the nuclear 28S rDNA, including samples of Apilitermes Holmgren, Crenetermes Silvestri, Megagnathotermes Silvestri and Thoracotermes Wasmann. Based on our analyses, we recovered these genera within a paraphyletic Cubitermes clade. Cubitermes species are distributed between five main clades, highly reflective of their enteric valve armatures (EVAs). Consequently, Cubitermes is here divided into five monophyletic genera based on phylogenetic analyses and EVAs: Cubitermes ( sensu stricto ), Isognathotermes Sjöstedt, Nitiditermes Emerson, Polyspathotermes Josens & Deligne, gen.n., and Ternicubitermes Josens & Deligne, gen.n. Moreover, the two species of Megagnathotermes included in this study, exhibiting different EVAs, are phylogenetically distant: M. katangensis Sjöstedt belongs in the genus Polyspathotermes, while M. notandus Silvestri remains as a monotypic genus. During the evolution of the Cubitermes complex, sclerotized EVA spatulae appeared twice independently: three or six spatulae in Polyspathotermes ( sulcifrons and oblectatus patterns) and two jaw‐like spatulae in Nitiditermes ( sankurensis pattern), which is absent in some species ( oculatus pattern). Zoobank registration: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:576AAFF8‐63C6‐4962‐A8F5‐75C9317AEA7B.

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 Polyspathotermes (7 species)

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: Polyspathotermes umbratus 荫生多铲白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/polyspathotermes-umbratus/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.

BibTeX

@misc{isoptera_polyspathotermes_umbratus_2026,
  author       = {班奈特格林},
  title        = {Polyspathotermes umbratus: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {2026.10.30},
  howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/polyspathotermes-umbratus/},
  note         = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}

RIS

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