Pterotermes occidentis 西部翅白蚁
- Type locality
- (country unknown): "West Coast of America"
- Distribution
- North America, United States, Mexico
List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Pterotermes occidentis is the only extant species of the genus Pterotermes, in the family KALOTERMITIDAE. The species was described by Walker in 1853; the type locality is (country unknown): “West Coast of America”. Distribution: North America, United States, Mexico.
Etymology
Genus name Pterotermes: From Greek pteron (wing) + Latin termes.
Specific epithet occidentis: From the descriptive term ‘occident’ (western)
Taxonomic position
- Family: KALOTERMITIDAE — 23 genera, 480 species
- Genus: Pterotermes — monotypic, 1 species
Distribution
- Distribution records: North America, United States, Mexico
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
The alate is closely related to Incisitermes and Marginitermes but differs in the large eye (0.68–0.71 mm in diameter) and 20–21 antennal segments; the soldier is the largest in the family, with pigmented eyes, a nearly saddle-shaped pronotum and a sclerotised swelling at the base of the postmentum.
Alate
Brown; eye large, 0.68–0.71 mm in diameter, the ocellus touching the compound eye; antennal segments 20–21; the bases of marginal teeth 1 and 2 of the left mandible as long as marginal tooth 3, their posterior margins as long as the anterior margin of marginal tooth 3; the posterior margin of marginal tooth 2 of the right mandible as long as the molar plate; pronotum as broad as the head; subcosta of the forewing long, unbranched; radial sector with 5–6 branches, the first at about 1/4 of the wing length; media weak, unsclerotised, lying between the radial sector and the cubitus, branched distally in some specimens; arolium always absent.
Soldier
Largest in the family; head very large, the sides rounded; frons sloping gradually forwards from about the middle of the head; postclypeus with one median ridge on each side, as in Rugitermes; a horn-like projection below and in front of the antennal socket, near the lateral base of the mandibles; eye pigmented; antennal segments 17, the third longer than the second and fourth; mandibles long and thick, toothed, with a distinct basal boss; postmentum with a sclerotised swelling at the base; pronotum broader than the head, somewhat saddle-shaped, the anterior margin deeply concave and covering the back of the head, the anterolateral corners raised; meso- and metathorax with distinct wing buds; femora inflated.
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.
- Acetonema longum gen.nov.sp.nov., an H2/CO2 acetogenic bacterium from the termite, Pterotermes occidentis
Abstract
- The symbiotic microbial community of the sonoran desert termite: Pterotermes occidentis
Abstract
- Symbionts of the Sonoran Desert termite Pterotermes occidentis
Abstract
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: Pterotermes occidentis 西部翅白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/pterotermes-occidentis/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_pterotermes_occidentis_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Pterotermes occidentis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/pterotermes-occidentis/},
note = {KALOTERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Pterotermes occidentis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/pterotermes-occidentis/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -