Rubeotermes jheringi 耶林变红白蚁
- Type locality
- Peru: Puno: Chaquimayo [ 13.45S 70.4W ]
- Distribution
- South America, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago
List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Rubeotermes jheringi is the only extant species of the genus Rubeotermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Apicotermitinae). The species was described by Holmgren in 1906; the type locality is Peru: Puno: Chaquimayo [ 13.45S 70.4W ]. Distribution: South America, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago.
Etymology
Genus name Rubeotermes: From Latin rubeus (red) + termes.
Specific epithet jheringi: Named after H. von Ihering
Taxonomic position
- Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
- Subfamily: Apicotermitinae — 68 genera, 241 species
- Genus: Rubeotermes — monotypic, 1 species
Distribution
- Distribution records: South America, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago
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 worker turns red in alcohol and the fore coxa bears several long, thick spines as large as the tarsal spur, characters by which it can be distinguished from all South American soldierless termites.
Alate
Compound eyes and ocelli medium-sized. Fontanelle very small. Pronotum semicircular in dorsal view, with several hundred setae. The posterior margins of the meso- and metanotum are rather concave, the angles rounded.
Worker
Large, head width about 1 mm. White in life, turning red in alcohol. Head capsule densely covered with many small setae; fontanelle very small. Fore coxa with several spines as large as the tarsal spur; fore tibia slightly inflated. The junction of the midgut and proctodeum is truncate, without a mixed segment (the original reads 'Mesenteron and proctodeum connection truncated, devoid of mixed segment'); the enteric valve inserts into a trilobed enteric valve seating.
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.
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.
- Towards a revision of the Neotropical soldierless termites (Isoptera: Termitidae): redescription of the genusGrigiotermes Mathews and description of five new genera
Abstract
Soldierless termites are extremely abundant in South America where they account for up to one-third of the termite species richness. However, their diversity has mostly been addressed through scattered, indecisive descriptions, leaving large gaps in our understanding of termite diversity. Here, to progress towards a more complete knowledge of this group, we redescribe the genus Grigiotermes and describe five new genera, Amplucrutermes, Humutermes, Hydrecotermes, Patawatermes, and Rubeotermes, comprising a total of nine species. We reassign four species to new genera, synonymize two species, and provide extensive descriptions and diagnoses for all taxa included here. We also provide a molecular phylogeny of selected Neotropical and Old World Apicotermitinae and provide a key to the genera of Neotropical workers to facilitate identification.
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: Rubeotermes jheringi 耶林变红白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/rubeotermes-jheringi/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_rubeotermes_jheringi_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Rubeotermes jheringi: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/rubeotermes-jheringi/},
note = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Rubeotermes jheringi: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/rubeotermes-jheringi/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -