Mastotermitidae

Mastotermitidae
Temporal range: Hauterivian–Holocene, 129.4–0 Ma[1]
Mastotermes darwiniensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Clade:Euarthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Blattodea
Parvorder:Euisoptera
Family:Mastotermitidae
Genera

See text

Mastotermitidae is a family of termites with one sole living species, Mastotermes darwiniensis which is found only in northern Australia. The remaining genera of this family are only known from the fossil record.

Fossil record

Numerous fossil taxa have been described in the Mastotermitidae, as well as in the genus Mastotermes. The family seems to have had a worldwide distribution until just a few million years ago, when all but the ancestors of the giant northern termite became extinct for unknown reasons.

Genera included in the Mastotermitidae are:[2]

  • Blattotermes Riek (Eocene-Oligocene of France, USA, and Australia)
  • Garmitermes Engel, Grimaldi, & Krishna (Eocene of Europe)
  • Idanotermes Engel (Eocene of Europe)
  • Khanitermes Engel, Grimaldi, & Krishna (Early Cretaceous of Mongolia)
  • Mastotermes Froggatt (Cretaceous-Recent of Europe, Central America and Australia)
  • Miotermes Rosen (Miocene of Croatia, Germany, and France)
  • Spargotermes Emerson (Miocene-Pliocene of Brazil)
  • Valditermes Jarzembowski (Early Cretaceous of England)

References

  1. ↑ Wang, Yan-hui; Engel, Michael S.; Rafael, José A.; Wu, Hao-yang; Rédei, Dávid; Xie, Qiang; Wang, Gang; Liu, Xiao-guang; Bu, Wen-jun (2016). "Fossil record of stem groups employed in evaluating the chronogram of insects (Arthropoda: Hexapoda)". Scientific Reports. 6: 38939. doi:10.1038/srep38939. PMC 5154178. PMID 27958352.
  2. ↑ Krishna, K., D.A. Grimaldi, V. Krishna, & M.S. Engel (2013) Treatise on the Isoptera of the world. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 377: 1-2704.
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