Xiaitermes yinxianensis 鄞县夏氏白蚁
- Type locality
- China: Zhejiang Province: Yinxia
- Distribution
- China
List： English (genus page) · 中文 · Español
Summary
Xiaitermes yinxianensis is the only extant species of the genus Xiaitermes, in the family TERMITIDAE (subfamily Nasutitermitinae). The species was described by Gao & He in 1994; the type locality is China: Zhejiang Province: Yinxia. Distribution: China. This site records 1 junior synonym for the species.
Etymology
Genus name Xiaitermes: Named after a person (Xia); -termes from Latin termes.
Specific epithet yinxianensis: Named after the locality Yinxian (Zhejiang, China)
Taxonomic position
- Family: TERMITIDAE — 280 genera, 2144 species
- Subfamily: Nasutitermitinae — 81 genera, 606 species
- Genus: Xiaitermes — monotypic, 1 species
Distribution
- Distribution records: China
The record above follows the wording of the original data; no geocoding or standardized place names have been applied.
Junior synonyms
This site records 1 junior synonym for the species, listed by its original literature source:
- Xiaitermes tiantaiensis Gao & He, 1994
In older literature, regional checklists and database searches, this species may appear under the synonym Xiaitermes tiantaiensis; this site treats it under Xiaitermes yinxianensis.
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
Small individuals: head yellowish brown, nasus reddish brown, frontal gland tube visible, antennae nearly concolorous with head, pronotum pale yellowish brown with anterior part pale reddish brown, meso- and metanotum and legs yellow, chaetotaxy as in large individuals. Head rather broadly pear-shaped, widest at the mid-posterior part; nasus rounded and tubular, in profile slightly obliquely upturned, vertex slightly convex, a small tubercle on each side of the nasus base; mandibular apical teeth distinct; antennae 13-segmented, segment III longer than II and IV, II and IV about equal in length. Pronotum saddle-shaped, anterior part upturned, the emarginations at the middle of the anterior and posterior margins both indistinct. Tibial spur formula 2:2:2; tarsi 4-segmented. Large individuals: head circular or elongate-oval, nasus projecting from before the frons, tubular or conical, narrow anteriorly and thick posteriorly; head not constricted at the middle, junction of vertex and nasus straight or slightly concave, no constriction behind the antennal sockets; mandibles very small, anterolateral corners blunt, or with a pointed spine projecting; antennal segments not much elongate; labrum extremely short.
Alate
Alate entirely dark. Head broadly oval; postclypeus pale, several times as wide as long; fontanelle small, mostly elongate and forked; antennal segments not much elongate; posterior margins of the meso- and metanotum rather widely concave; forewing scale and hindwing scale similar in size; radial vein absent; media and cubitus very close together.
Worker
Workers also occur in two sizes. Large individuals: head reddish brown, pale T-shaped suture distinct, antennae yellowish brown, pronotum coloured like the antennae, legs yellowish brown, setae on the head sparse. Head somewhat broadly circular, widest behind the antennal sockets, fontanelle circular and depressed, situated just behind the intersection of the T-suture, postclypeus convex; antennae 15-segmented, segment II longer than III or IV; pronotum saddle-shaped, anterior margin concave, median emargination of the posterior margin indistinct. Small individuals: head paler than in large individuals, chaetotaxy the same; head square with rounded corners, postclypeus convex, antennae 14-segmented, segment IV shortest; pronotum saddle-shaped, median emargination of the anterior margin distinct, that of the posterior margin indistinct.
Nymph
Abstract (from the source)
Soldiers occur in two sizes. Small individuals have a yellowish brown head, a reddish brown nasus with visible frontal gland ducts, a broad pear-shaped head, 13 antennal segments, and a saddle-shaped pronotum with a raised front lobe. Large individuals have a round or long-oval head with a tubular nasus, very small mandibles whose anterolateral corner is blunt or bears a spine, and short antennal segments. Alates are uniformly dark, with a broad oval head, a wide pale postclypeus, a small forked fontanelle, and the radial vein absent.
Biology
Distribution and locality
Yinxian, Zhejiang.
Taxonomic notes
Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 404 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.
Distribution map
No GBIF record with coordinates was found for this species.
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.
- Revisiting a Chinese Endemic Termite Genus of Building Timber Pests: Mitochondrial Genomic and Morphological Dissection and Phylogenetic Positioning of Xiaitermes Gao & He, 1994 (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae)
Abstract
Xiaitermes Gao & He, 1994 is a small genus within Nasutitermitinae, the largest subfamily of Termitidae. It comprises only two species, both of which are wood-feeding pests endemic to China that damage building timbers and economic crops. However, the morphological similarity between these two species, combined with a lack of molecular data, has made species identification challenging. This study determined the first mitochondrial genomes of Xiaitermes tiantaiensis Gao & He, 1994 and Xiaitermes yinxianensis Gao & He, 1994 (15,867 bp and 15,866 bp in length, respectively), which share 99.9% sequence identity. Comparative mitogenomic analysis revealed an A+T-biased nucleotide composition and codon usage pattern, as well as conserved tRNA secondary structures. Morphological analysis of the soldier caste demonstrated that the apical processes of the mandibles exhibit considerable intraspecific variation and are not diagnostic for species delimitation. Furthermore, the ranges of the seven morphological measurements strongly overlapped. Integrated molecular and morphological evidence confirmed that X. tiantaiensis is a junior synonym of X. yinxianensis. Although phylogenetic analyses based on mitogenomic data only partially resolved relationships among subfamilies within Termitidae, they provided better resolution within Nasutitermitinae and consistently placed Xiaitermes as closely related to Ahmaditermes.
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: Xiaitermes yinxianensis 鄞县夏氏白蚁[EB/OL]. Version 2026.10.30. https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/xiaitermes-yinxianensis/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836.
BibTeX
@misc{isoptera_xiaitermes_yinxianensis_2026,
author = {班奈特格林},
title = {Xiaitermes yinxianensis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites)},
year = {2026},
version = {2026.10.30},
howpublished = {https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/xiaitermes-yinxianensis/},
note = {TERMITIDAE; version 2026.10.30; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23646836},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23646836}
}
RIS
TY - ELEC TI - Xiaitermes yinxianensis: a checklist of extant Isoptera (termites) AU - 班奈特格林 PY - 2026 UR - https://termite-extant-isoptera.org/en/species/xiaitermes-yinxianensis/ DO - 10.5281/zenodo.23646836 ER -