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Citation for Study 18665

Citation title: "Morphologically specialized termite castes and advanced sociality in the Early Cretaceous".

Study name: "Morphologically specialized termite castes and advanced sociality in the Early Cretaceous".

This study is part of submission 18665 (Status: Published).

Citation

Engel M.S., Barden P., Riccio M.L., & Grimaldi D. 2016. Morphologically specialized termite castes and advanced sociality in the Early Cretaceous. Current Biology, 26(4): 522-530.

Authors

• Engel M.S.
• Barden P. (submitter)
• Riccio M.L.
• Grimaldi D.

Abstract

A hallmark of animals that are eusocial, or those with advanced sociality, is reproductive specialization into worker and queen castes [1?3]. In the most derived societies, these divisions are essentially fixed and in some arthropods, include further specialization?a tripartite system with a soldier caste that defends the colony [1]. Eusociality has originated numerous times among insects but is believed to have appeared first in the termites (Isoptera), in the Early Cretaceous [4]. However, all termites known from the Cretaceous have, until now, only been winged reproductives (alates and dealates); the earliest soldiers and definitive workers were known from just the Miocene (ca. 17?20 million years ago [mya]) [4]. Here, we report six termite species preserved in Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 mya) amber from Myanmar, one described as Krishnatermes yoddha gen. et sp. nov., comprising the worker/pseudergate, winged reproductive, and soldier, and a second species, Gigantotermes rex gen. et sp. nov., based on one of the largest soldier termites yet known. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Krishnatermes are in the basal "Meiatermes- grade" of Cretaceous termites. Workers/pseudergates of another four species are briefly described, but not named. One of these workers/pseudergates reveals that ants?the most serious enemies of mod- ern termites?lived in close proximity to termites in the Burmese paleofauna. These discoveries demonstrate the Mesozoic antiquity of specialized termite caste systems and corroborate that among all social species, termites probably had the original societies.

External links

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.061

About this resource

• Canonical resource URI: http://purl.org/phylo/treebase/phylows/study/TB2:S18665
• Other versions: Nexus NeXML
• Show BibTeX reference

  		@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref25408,
  	 author = {Michael S Engel and Phillip  Barden and Mark L Riccio and David  Grimaldi},
  	 title = {Morphologically specialized termite castes and advanced sociality in the Early Cretaceous},
  	 year = {2016},
  	 keywords = {},
  	 doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.061},
  	 url = {http://},
  	 pmid = {},
  	 journal = {Current Biology},
  	 volume = {26},
  	 number = {4},
  	 pages = {522--530},
  	 abstract = {A hallmark of animals that are eusocial, or those with advanced sociality, is reproductive specialization into worker and queen castes [1?3]. In the most derived societies, these divisions are essentially fixed and in some arthropods, include further specialization?a tripartite system with a soldier caste that defends the colony [1]. Eusociality has originated numerous times among insects but is believed to have appeared first in the termites (Isoptera), in the Early Cretaceous [4]. However, all termites known from the Cretaceous have, until now, only been winged reproductives (alates and dealates); the earliest soldiers and definitive workers were known from just the Miocene (ca. 17?20 million years ago [mya]) [4]. Here, we report six termite species preserved in Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 mya) amber from Myanmar, one described as Krishnatermes yoddha gen. et sp. nov., comprising the worker/pseudergate, winged reproductive, and soldier, and a second species, Gigantotermes rex gen. et sp. nov., based on one of the largest soldier termites yet known. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Krishnatermes are in the basal "Meiatermes- grade" of Cretaceous termites. Workers/pseudergates of another four species are briefly described, but not named. One of these workers/pseudergates reveals that ants?the most serious enemies of mod- ern termites?lived in close proximity to termites in the Burmese paleofauna. These discoveries demonstrate the Mesozoic antiquity of specialized termite caste systems and corroborate that among all social species, termites probably had the original societies.}
  }
  		

• Show RIS reference

  		TY  - JOUR
  ID  - 25408
  AU  - Engel,Michael S
  AU  - Barden,Phillip 
  AU  - Riccio,Mark L
  AU  - Grimaldi,David 
  T1  - Morphologically specialized termite castes and advanced sociality in the Early Cretaceous
  PY  - 2016
  KW  - 
  UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.061
  N2  - A hallmark of animals that are eusocial, or those with advanced sociality, is reproductive specialization into worker and queen castes [1?3]. In the most derived societies, these divisions are essentially fixed and in some arthropods, include further specialization?a tripartite system with a soldier caste that defends the colony [1]. Eusociality has originated numerous times among insects but is believed to have appeared first in the termites (Isoptera), in the Early Cretaceous [4]. However, all termites known from the Cretaceous have, until now, only been winged reproductives (alates and dealates); the earliest soldiers and definitive workers were known from just the Miocene (ca. 17?20 million years ago [mya]) [4]. Here, we report six termite species preserved in Early Cretaceous (ca. 100 mya) amber from Myanmar, one described as Krishnatermes yoddha gen. et sp. nov., comprising the worker/pseudergate, winged reproductive, and soldier, and a second species, Gigantotermes rex gen. et sp. nov., based on one of the largest soldier termites yet known. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Krishnatermes are in the basal "Meiatermes- grade" of Cretaceous termites. Workers/pseudergates of another four species are briefly described, but not named. One of these workers/pseudergates reveals that ants?the most serious enemies of mod- ern termites?lived in close proximity to termites in the Burmese paleofauna. These discoveries demonstrate the Mesozoic antiquity of specialized termite caste systems and corroborate that among all social species, termites probably had the original societies.
  L3  - 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.061
  JF  - Current Biology
  VL  - 26
  IS  - 4
  SP  - 522
  EP  - 530
  ER  -