Termopsidae is an extinct family of termites in the order

Blattodea Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically ...

. The five extant genera formerly included in Termopsidae ('' Archotermopsis'', '' Hodotermopsis'', '' Porotermes'', '' Stolotermes'', and ''

Zootermopsis ''Zootermopsis'' is a genus of termites in the Dampwood termite family (Archotermopsidae Archotermopsidae is a family of termites in the order Blattodea, known as dampwood termites, formerly included within the family Termopsidae. They consti ...

'') have recently been treated as part of the newer family

Archotermopsidae Archotermopsidae is a family of termites in the order Blattodea, known as dampwood termites, formerly included within the family Termopsidae. They constitute a small and rather primitive family with five extant genera and 13–20 living species. ...

, leaving only extinct taxa in Termopsidae. Several prehistoric genera are placed herein, known only from

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 ...

s. Since only a small part of the erstwhile diversity of dampwood termites survives, it is rather difficult to assign these to subfamilies. Several seem to represent very ancient members of the family; they may be quite basal Termopsidae, so it is indeed unwarranted to place them into a subfamily at all. * Genus '' Asiatermes'' (Early Cretaceous of China) * Genus '' Huaxiatermes'' (Early Cretaceous of China) * Genus '' Mesotermopsis'' (Early Cretaceous of China) * Genus '' Cretatermes'' (Late Cretaceous of Labrador, Canada) * Genus '' Lutetiatermes'' (Late Cretaceous of France) * Genus '' Paleotermopsis'' (Late Oligocene of France) * Genus '' Parotermes'' (Oligocene of Colorado, USA) * Genus '' Valditermes'' – provisionally placed here

Nomenclature

The group was originally described as a subfamily, Termopsinae, by Nils Holmgren in 1911, and was raised to the

taxonomic rank In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family (biology), family, order (biology), order, class (b ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Pierre-Paul Grassé Pierre-Paul Grassé (November 27, 1895 in Périgueux (Dordogne) – July 9, 1985) was a French zoologist, writer of over 300 publications including the influential 52-volume ''Traité de Zoologie''. He was an expert on termites and one of the las ...

in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Termopsidae Termites Prehistoric insect families Taxa named by Pierre-Paul Grassé