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Early Fossil History of the Termites

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Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology

Abstract

All Mesozoic records of termites are from the Cretaceous and are of the families Hodotermitidae, Termopsidae, and possibly the Mastotermitidae. All known fossil Isoptera from the Cretaceous, including described and undescribed specimens, have distinctly primitive wing venation and, to the extent that can be evaluated, primitive morphology of other body regions. Thus termites were primitive but reasonably diversified in the Cretaceous, suggesting an origin in the Upper Jurassic, but probably not earlier. The geographic range of known Mesozoic termite fossils includes Europe, Asia, and North and South America, indicating a broad Pangean distribution and both temperate and tropical habitats. We suggest that the driving forces behind modern termite distributions were not early evolution and continental drift, but rather an explosive Tertiary radiation followed by broad and rapid dispersal as termites became ecologically dominant consumers. Relict distributions of modem Mastotermitidae, Hodotermitidae, and Termopsidae, the origin and the radiation of social insects are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, USA

    Barbara L. Thorne

  2. Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, New York, 10024, USA

    David A. Grimaldi & Kumar Krishna

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  1. Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, 520-2113, Kamitanakami-Hirano, Otsu, Japan

    Takuya Abe  & Masahiko Higashi  & 

  2. School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, E1 4NS, London, UK

    David Edward Bignell

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Thorne, B.L., Grimaldi, D.A., Krishna, K. (2000). Early Fossil History of the Termites. In: Abe, T., Bignell, D.E., Higashi, M. (eds) Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3223-9_4

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