Sinocapritermes songtaoensis He, 1993 松桃华扭白蚁

Recorded in Fauna Sinica

The morphological and biological accounts below are taken from Fauna Sinica and related literature; only structure and punctuation have been standardized here.

Morphology

Soldier

Head, postmentum and antennae pale yellowish brown; labrum pale yellow, the transparent projections at the anterior lateral corners nearly white; mandibles deep reddish brown; thorax, abdomen and legs pale yellow. Hairs on the anterior part of the head rather dense, becoming sparser posteriorly, the posterior part with only a few short hairs; thoracic hairs sparse, those of the abdomen rather dense. Head somewhat rectangular, the sides nearly parallel, the posterior lateral corners joined to the posterior margin by a broad arc; the frontal region sloping from the anterior part of the frons towards the clypeus, the slope slightly concave; fontanelle above the concave slope, dot-like, the median suture distinct and situated posteriorly, about one-third of the head length. Middle of the anterior margin of the labrum incised in a U. Mandibles slightly asymmetrical left and right: the middle section of the left mandible slender and slightly twisted, curved and rod-like, the apex slightly incurved, the curved end short and hook-like, the posterior margin of the hook swollen and trapezoidal; right mandible flattened and broad like a sabre, the anterior part of the inner margin narrowed to the pointed tip. Antennae 14 segments, the third and fifth equal in length and longer than the fourth. Pronotum saddle-shaped, less than half as long as wide, the anterior margin projecting forwards in a broad arc with a slight central concavity, the posterior margin projecting backwards in a broad arc with a rather distinct central notch. Tibial spur formula 2:2:2.

Alate

Worker

Head pale yellow, thorax and abdomen slightly paler than the head, legs pale yellow and nearly white. Hairs scattered on the head, those of the pronotum sparse, those of the abdomen loose. Body rather small, head nearly circular, postclypeus slightly raised; the apical tooth of the left mandible rather long and projecting, the posterior cutting edge longer than the anterior edge of marginal tooth 1, marginal teeth 2 and 1 joined by a long posterior cutting edge whose end shows only a minute tooth mark. Antennae 14 segments, the fifth longer than the second, the second longer than the third, the third and fourth similar in length. Pronotum broadly saddle-shaped. In another worker form the head is somewhat circular, widest at the middle and narrowing behind it, the posterior margin a broad arc; the head suture T-shaped, the vertex flat in profile; postclypeus raised, the second segment slightly longer than the third or nearly equal to it; pronotum saddle-shaped; abdomen olive-shaped, the gut contents visible through the cuticle.

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

Songtao, Guizhou.

Taxonomic notes

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 366 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.