Comparison of termite fontanelles (IMAGE)

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University

Comparison of termite fontanelles

Caption

Comparison of the fontanelle, the opening in the center of the heads which secretes a defensive liquid, between two termite species – the pest-species C. gestroi (left) and the non-pest D. longilabius (right). Previously, the Rhinotermitidae family included both species with (D. longilabius) and without (C. gestroi) a narrow groove running from the fontanelle, but this inconsistency has now been cleared up thanks to phylogenetic analyses and by removing species without the grove like C. gestroi. 

Credit

Left: Thomas Chouvenc, UF/IFAS. Right: Simon Hellemans, OIST.

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