''Ahamitermes'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
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 in the family
Termitidae
Termitidae is the largest family of termites whose members are commonly known as the higher termites. They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans comm ...
containing four species, all of which have a
parasitic
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
relationship with termites in the genus ''
Coptotermes''. The
host and the parasite dwell in separate parts of the mound nest and are mutually antagonistic. The ''Ahamitermes'' live in the innermost parts of the nest and feed on the "carton" material with which the galleries are lined which consists of soil particles, chewed wood and cellulose, bound together with saliva and faeces. They are thus dependent on their host for both their food and their home and are not found in any other situations.
The genus was first described in 1920 by
Eric Mjöberg.
Species
*''Ahamitermes nidicola''
Mjoberg - Queensland
*''Ahamitermes hillii''
Nicholls - Southwestern Australia
*''Ahamitermes inclusus''
Gay - Western Australia
*''Ahamitermes pumilus''
Hill - New South Wales and Western Australia
References
Termite genera
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