Spiralitermes jurupari , a New Genus and Species of Soldierless Termites (Blattodea: Termitidae) From the Amazon Rainforest
Rayssa Almeida‐Azevedo, Maurício Rocha, José Wellington de Morais, Renato Almeida de AzevedoABSTRACT
The soldierless termites of Apicotermitinae exhibit highly varied digestive tract morphology, with the first proctodeal segment being one of the most commonly used features in genus diagnosis. In this study, we describe Spiralitermes jurupari Almeida‐Azevedo & Azevedo gen. et sp. nov ., from the Amazon Rainforest. This genus can be distinguished by its extremely long, spiral‐shaped first proctodeal segment, tubular, a unlobed enteric valve seat, and enteric valve spines directed toward P1. We detail these characteristics through analyses of the external and internal morphology of the workers. The discovery of this new genus expands our knowledge of the morphology and diversity of soldierless termites in the Amazon Rainforest.