Nasutitermitinae

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Nasutitermitinae
Hospitalitermes sp
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Infraorder: Isoptera
Family: Termitidae
Subfamily: Nasutitermitinae
Hare [1]
Genera

see text

The Nasutitermitinae is a near cosmopolitan subfamily of higher termites represented by 81 genera and 605 species.[2][3] The highly derived soldier caste exhibits vestigial mandibles and a protruding fontanellar process on the head, known as the nasus, from which they can "shoot" chemical weaponry. Notable genera include the notorious wood-eating Nasutitermes, and the conspicuous Hospitalitermes and Constrictotermes, both distinguished for their brazen habit of forming extensive foraging trails exposed to the open.

Genera

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The Termite Catalogue lists the following genera:[4]

Nasutes

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Termite nose gun illustration
Termite nasute illustration (since reclassified as Nasutitermes corniger)
Main article: Fontanellar gun

The fontanellar gun is a defense mechanism in the form of a horn-like frontal projection (nasus) on the head of a specialized nasute soldier caste which is capable of expelling chemical weaponry at a distance, a trait exclusive to the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. It is primarily used to ward off predators such as ants.[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ Hare L (1937). Termite phylogeny as evidenced by soldier mandible development. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 37(3): 459–486.
  2. ^ Engel, M.S. (2011). "Family-group names for termites (Isoptera), redux". ZooKeys (148): 171–184. Bibcode:2011ZooK..148..171E. doi:10.3897/zookeys.148.1682. PMC 3264418. PMID 22287896.
  3. ^ Constantino, R. 2020. Termite Database. Brasília, University of Brasília. [updated April 2024; cited June 3rd 2025]. URL: http://termitologia.net.
  4. ^ Termite Catalogue (retrieved 7 July 2019)
  5. ^ Constantino R, Acioli ANS (2009). Ngauratermes arue, new genus and species of nasute termite (Isoptera: Termitidae) from the Amazon. Zootaxa, 2239: 22-30. Abstract & excerpt
  6. ^ Prestwich, Glenn D. (May 1979). "Chemical Defense by Termite Soldiers". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 5 (3): 459–480. Bibcode:1979JCEco...5..459P. doi:10.1007/bf00987930. S2CID 40048208.
  7. ^ Sobotnik, Jan; Jirosova, Anna; Hanus, Robert (September 2010). "Chemical warfare in termites". Journal of Insect Physiology. 56 (9): 1012–1021. Bibcode:2010JInsP..56.1012S. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.02.012. PMID 20223240.
  8. ^ Miura, T.; Matsumoto, T. (2000). "Soldier morphogenesis in a nasute termite: discovery of a disc-like structure forming a soldier nasus". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 267 (1449): 1185–1189. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1127. PMC 1690655. PMID 10902684.
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  • Tree of Life (TolWeb)
  • Media related to Nasutitermitinae at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Nasutitermitinae at Wikispecies