Mastotermitidae is a family of

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

s with one sole living species, ''

Mastotermes darwiniensis ''Mastotermes darwiniensis'', common names giant northern termite and Darwin termite, is a termite species found only in northern Australia. It is the most primitive extant termite species. Evolutionary significance This species shows uncanny s ...

'' which is found only in northern Australia. The remaining genera of this family are only known from the fossil record.

Fossil record

Numerous

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

have been described in the Mastotermitidae, as well as in the genus '' Mastotermes''. The family seems to have had a worldwide distribution until just a few million years ago, when all but the ancestors of the giant northern termite became extinct for unknown reasons. Genera included in the Mastotermitidae are:Krishna, K., D.A. Grimaldi, V. Krishna, & M.S. Engel (2013) Treatise on the Isoptera of the world. ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 377: 1-2704. * '' Anisotermes'' Zhao et al

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

, Myanmar, Cenomanian *'' Blattotermes'' Riek (Eocene-Oligocene of France, USA, and Australia) * '' Garmitermes'' Engel, Grimaldi, &

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than ...

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

*'' Idanotermes'' Engel Baltic amber, Eocene * '' Khanitermes'' Engel, Grimaldi, & Krishna Shar-Tolgoy Formation, Dzun-Bain Formation, Mongolia, Aptian *'' Mastotermes'' Froggatt (Cretaceous-Recent of Europe, Central America and Australia) * '' Miotermes'' Rosen (Miocene of Croatia, Germany, and France) * '' Spargotermes'' Emerson (Miocene-Pliocene of Brazil) * '' Valditermes'' Jarzembowski

Weald Clay Weald Clay or the Weald Clay Formation is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock unit underlying areas of South East England, between the North and South Downs, in an area called the Weald Basin. It is the uppermost unit of the Wealden Group of ro ...

, United Kingdom,

Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.9 ± 2 Ma and 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastotermitidae Termites Blattodea families Extant Hauterivian first appearances