Termite researchers in the US have named a new species of drywood termite.
Deep in the South American rainforest, researchers from the University of Florida have found a new drywood termite. Drywood termites are renowned for the unusual head shapes of their soldiers, and this new species is stranger than most! With its head resembling the shape of a sperm whale, the new species has been named Cryptotermes mobydicki.
Its morphology was so strange the researchers thought they were initially looking at a new genus. However, taxonomic studies showed it was the 14th member of the Cryptotermes genus endemic to South America.
The nest of this new species was found 8 metres above ground, in a dead tree. Although belonging to the same genus as the invasive West Indian drywood termite, this new species represents no threat to homeowners, with its habitat confined to tropical rainforests.
