Termite (Insecta : Isoptera) Fauna of Gujarat and Rajasthan - Present State of Knowledge

Contents: Introduction. Material and methods. List of termites known from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Key to the taxa of termite from Gujarat and Rajasthan. Systematic account. Family I. Kalotermitidae Froggatt, 1896: 1. Incistermes Didwanensis Roonwal & Verma, 1973. 2. Neotermes Fletcheri Holmgren and Holmgren, 1917. 3. Cryptotermes Bengalensis (Snyder; 1934). 4. Cryptotermes Daulti Rathore, 1994. 5. Cryptoermes Havilandi (Sjostedt, 1900). Family II. Hodotermitidae Desneux, 1904. Subfamily (I) Hodotermitinae Desneux, 1904. 6. Anacanthotermes Macrocephalus (Desneux, 1906). Family III. Rhinotermitidae Froggatt, 1896. Subfamily (II) Psammotermitinae Holmgren, 1911. 7. Psammotermes Rajasthanicus Roonwal & Bose, 1960. Subfamily (III) Coptotermitinae Holmgren, 1911. 8. Coptotermes Heimi (Wasmann, 1902). 9. Coptotermes Kishori Roonwal and Chhotani, 1960. Subfamily (IV) Heterotermitinae Froggatt, 1896. 10. Heterotermes Gertrudae Roonwal, 1953. 11. Heterotermes Indicola (Wasmann, 1902). 12. Heterotermes Malabaricus Snyder, 1933. Family IV. Termitidae westwood, 1934. Subfamily (V) Amitermitinae Kamner, 1934. 13. Eurytermes Mohana Rathore, 1995. 14. Speculitermes Cyclops Wasmann, 1902. 15. Speculitermes Dharwarjensis Roonwal & Chhotani, 1964. 16. Speculitermes Sinhalensis Roonwal and Sen-Sarma, 1960. 17. Speculitermes triangularis Roonwal & Sen-Sarma, 1960. 18. Synhamitermes Labioangulatus Thakur, 1989. 19. Synhamitermes quadriceps (Wasmann, 1902). 20. Amitermes Belli (Desneux, 1906). 21. Eremotermes Dehraduni Roonwal & Sen-Sarma, 1960. 22. Eremotermes Fletcheri Holmgren & Holmgren, 1917. 23. Eremotermes Neoparadoxalis Ahmad, 1955. 24. Eremotermes Paradoxalis Holmgren, 1912. 25. Eremotermes Sanyuktae Thakur, 1989. 26. Microcerotermes Annandalei Silvestri, 1923. 27. Microcerotermes Baluchistanicus Ahmad, 1955. 28. Microcerotermes Beesoni Snyder, 1933. 29. Microcerotermes Cameroni Snyder, 1934. 30. Microcerotermes Dumasensis Thakur, 1989. 31. Microcerotermes Heimi Wasmann, 1902. 32. Microcerotermes Laxmi Roonwal & Bose, 1964. 33. Microcerotermes Palestinensis Spaeth, 1962. 34. Microcerotermes Raja Roonwal and Bose, 1964. 35. Microcerotermes Sakesarensis Ahmad, 1955. 36. Microcerotermes Tenuignathus Holmgren, 1913. Subfamily (VI) Termitinae Sjostedt, 1926. 37. Angulitermes dehraensis (Gardner, 1945). 38. Angulitermes jodhpurensis Roonwal and Verma, 1977. 39. Dicuspiditermes incola (Wasmann, 1893). Subfamily (VII) Macrotermitinae Kemner, 1934. 40. Odontotermes anamallensis Holmgren and Holmgren, 1917. 41. Odontotermes Assmuthi Holmgren, 1913. 42. Odontotermes bellahunisensis Holmgren & Holmgren, 1917. 43. Odontotermes Bhagwathi Chatterjee and Thakur, 1967. 44. Odontotermes Brunneus (Hagen, 1858). 45. Odontotermes dehraduni (Snyder, 1934). 46. Odontotermes distans Holmgren and Holmgren, 1917. 47. Odontotermes feae (Wasmann, 1896). 48. Odontotermes Giriensis Roonwal and Chhotani, 1962. 49. Odontotermes girnarensis Thakur, 1989. 50. Odontotermes Guptai Roonwal & Bose, 1961. 51. Odontotermes Gurdaspurensis Holmgren & Holmgren, 1917. 52. Odontotermes horai Roonwal & Chhotani, 1962. 53. Odontotermes indicus Thakur, 1981. 54. Odontotermes kushwahai Roonwal & Bose, 1964. 55. Odontotermes latiguloides Roonwal & Verma, 1973. 56. Odontotermes lokanandi Chatterjee & Thakur, 1967. 57. Odontotermes Malabaricus Holmgren & Holmngren, 1917. 58. Odontotermes microdentatus Roonwal and Sen-Sarma, 1960. 59. Odontotermes obesus (Rambur, 1842). 60. Odontotermes Paralatiguloides Thakur, 1989. 61. Odontotermes parvidens Holmgren and Holmgren, 1917. 62. Odontotermes redemanni (Wasmann, 1893). 63. Odontotermes Sasangirensis Thakur, 1989. 64. Odontotermes Wallonensis (Wasmann, 1902). 65. Microtermes Bharatpurensis Rathore, 1989. 66. Microtermes incertoides Holmgren, 1913. 67. Microtermes Mycophagus (Desneux, 1905). 68. Microtermes Obesi Holmgren, 1913. 69. Microtermes unicolor Snyder, 1933. Subfamily (VIII) Nasutitermitinae Hare, 1937. 70. Trinervitermes biformis (Wasmann, 1902). 71. Trinervitermes Fletcheri Chatterjee & Thakur, 1965. Discussion. Summary. Acknowledgements. Selected references.

From the Introduction: "Termites belonging to the order Isoptera (Gk. "Iso" - same / equal; Gk. "Ptera" - wing), commonly known as white ants are one of the most abundant terrestrial animals on earth. Their numbers are so huge that it is estimated there might be several metric tons of termites for every human being on earth. Because of their destructive habit these tiny creatures were able to draw our attention from the very beginning of human civilization. Apart from grass-eating termites, which forage in the open, all termites remain within a closed system of galleries in their mound. Termites are reported from all zoogeographical regions of the world, but most of the termite species are known from the tropics.

Gujarat and Rajasthan provides an interesting field of study on the isopteran fauna over certain types of diverse ecosystems varying from the arid region in the east upto the salty marsh land of Rann of Kutch in the west and over and above the Aravallis. Gujarat is probably one of the Indian states, which is least surveyed for its faunal resources, especially the invertebrates. The study of termites in India was initiated by Konig in 1779, but the first published record of termites from Gujarat dates back to the year 1913 when Holmgren studied Assmuth\'s collection and recorded five species. In the same year, Assmuth published the records of four other species for the first time from Gujarat. Later Chatterjee and Thakur (1968) and Ronwal (1973) dealt with taxonomy and biology of several termite species from Gujarat. In his two subsequent publications, M.L. Thakur (1976, 1981) recorded five species of Odontotermes from various localities in Gujarat. R.K. Thakur (1989) did the most commendable work on Gujarat termite fauna. In addition to the already known taxa of three families, six genera and thirteen species, he (loc.cit.) added one more family, eight genera and thirty-three species, including six new species. R.K. Thakur (1984, 1985, 1991) reported on the field ecology, eco-biogeography, and economic importance of termites in Gujarat. In view of its poor taxonomic information, it is therefore timely to assess the state of knowledge of this group in Gujarat. In this paper, the authors have increased the taxonomic strength of termite fauna from Gujarat by adding one more genus and fourteen species."