Taxonomy and Phylogeny of Termites

Abstract

Termites are a large and diverse group, comprising roughly 281 genera and over 2600 described species. At present, seven families and 14 subfamilies are recognized. A large majority (ca. 85%) of known genera are included in one family, Termitidae. The present classification, as used since 1972, has been moderately stable but suffers from a lack of good defining synapomorphies for several groups and a rearrangement of taxa is desirable. At the evolutionary level, phylogenetic hypotheses proposed for Isoptera have one or more of these failings: a lack of cladistic analysis, too few characters, or poor taxon sampling. Surprisingly, the first cladistic phylogenetic hypothesis was published only in 1996, but three further studies have been overtaken subsequently. Mastotermitidae are generally accepted as the basal family, but in contrast there is little consensus on relationships among the sub-basal families and among subfamilies within the Termitidae. Recent advances in molecular techniques, cladistic analyses and increased cooperation among scientists employing disparate character sets presage a resolution of these problems. Appendices list described genera and estimate species numbers. There is an annotated key to families and subfamilies.