Taxonomic studies of amazonian Apicotermitinae termites from Alto do Rio Madeira

• Grant number: 23/02873-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2023
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Tiago Fernandes Carrijo
• Grantee: Giordano Goulart Messina
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The subfamily Apicotermitinae (Termitidae) is probably the least studied group oftermites, mainly because most of the species from this subfamily has no soldiers, and theyusually used to identify termites. The characteristics that differentiate the Apicotermitinaeworkers are concentrated in the digestive tube, however the dissection and manipulationrequire training and practice. This Scientific Initiation project aims to carry out amorphological study and identification of Apicotermitinae samples from two campaignscarried out at the Jirau HPP. This material has been studied in the context of the projectcoordinated by the supervisor of this proposal: "Apicotermitinae (Blattaria, Isoptera,Termitidae) from the upper Madeira River region, Rondônia: taxonomy and dimensionsof diversity" (FAPESP Process: 20/ 06041-4), to which this proposal is linked. Externalmorphological studies will be carried out in workers and winged, in addition to theinternal morphological study of workers. Internal structures such as the enteric valve anddigestive tube, and external structures such as the head, thorax and legs will be studied.These characteristics will be illustrated and associated with the samples, for furtherdescription of new taxa. Considering a limited literature on the subject, the results of theproject are expected to contribute to the taxonomic knowledge of the Apicotermitinae inthe Brazilian Amazon region.