Tucupitermes ubixaba Almeida-Azevedo, Acioli & Azevedo, 2025

Almeida-Azevedo, Rayssa, Acioli, Agno Nonato Serrão, Heleodoro, Raphael, Morais, José Wellington De, Brown, George Gardner, Kille, Peter, Cunha, Luis & Azevedo, Renato Almeida De, 2025, Tucupitermes, the largest Apicotermitinae (Isoptera, Termitidae) from the Amazon Rainforest, Zootaxa 5633 (1), pp. 186-194 : 191-192

Tucupitermes ubixaba Almeida-Azevedo, Acioli & Azevedo sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C241F985-DA5D-4CEE-95AD-2AA0A38FAD47

( Figs 1A–F , 2A–K )

Etymology. from the Tupi-Gurani“ ub-i-xaba ”,which means“indigenous leader, foreman,enormous,large, immense” in reference to the size of the workers, which are comparatively larger than other Neotropical Apicotermitinae .

Holotype: worker, in 80% alcohol, separated in a microtube. Original label: Brasil, Pará, Santarém, 2º41'13.90"S, 54º55'3.30"W. Manual sampling, 22.05.2015. A. N. S. Acioli col. The holotype was deposited at the Invertebrate Collection of the National Institute of Amazonian Research— INPA ( INPA-ISO 000013 ) (in a bottle separated from the rest of the sample).

Paratypes: 25 workers with the same data as the holotype. From these, 20 paratypes were deposited in the Invertebrate Collection of the National Institute for Amazonian Research—( INPA INPA-ISO 000014 ) and five deposited at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro—( MNRJ-ENT9-1349 ) .

Species Diagnosis. As described for the genus.

Species Description. As described for the genus.

Distribution. Brazil, Pará, Santarém. Termites were collected directly from the soil using a hoe. In the yellow soil, termites were very agile, fleeing into underground tunnels. No imago or nesting structures were found. Workers of Tucupitermes gen. nov. were very abundant, becoming visible at the first excavation. Very large termites that impressed the collector.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Tucupitermes gen.nov, non-type specimen. A. Habitus, dorsal view; B. Habitus, lateral view; C. Head, dorsal view; D. Head, lateral view; E. Mandibles, dorsal view; F. Procoxae. Scale bar: A–B = 1 mm, C–F = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Digestive tube of Tucupitermes gen.nov., non-type specimen.A–D. Digestive tube;A. Dorsal view; B. Right lateral view; C. Ventral view; D. Left lateral view; E. Stomodeal valve; F. Ampullae and Malpighian tubules; G. Connection P1–P3; H–I. Connection P1–P3 with bilobed seating. C = crop, M = mesenteron, P1 = first proctodeal segment, P3, P3a, P3b = paunch, P4 = colon, P5 = rectum; T = tougue; MT = Malpighian tubule; SV = Stomodeal valve; A = Malpighian ampullae. S = Seating. J–K. Enteric valve. Scale bar: A–D = 1 mm, E = 0.5 mm, F–G = 1 mm, H = 200 μm, J = 50 μm.