A "blast" from the past: Mastotermes darwiniensis

ItalianTermiteMan

Arachnosquire
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Jul 23, 2023
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146
It's common knowledge that thanks to its geologic history Australia is a veritable repository of remarkable species, and termites are no exception: hence, today i'll tell you about an unique one from the land down under, Mastotermes darwiniensis!

These large-sized termites endemic of northern Australia and (unsurprisingly) locally known as the "giant northern termite" are the most basal ("primitive") living species in the world and the last extant remnant of the once-thriving family Mastotermitidae, which beside M. darwiniensis are known only for several fossil genera and species stretching all the way back to the early Cretaceous period. Of all living termites, this is the closest to "traditional" cockroaches and the only one to share with them some characteristics like an anal lobe on the hind wings and the laying of eggs in oothecas rather than singly. Their guts are also the only place where you can find the symbiont protozoan Mixotricha paradoxa, an extremely interesting critter all in itself.

As mentioned before, these are large termites and with their lenght of around 13 millimeters their soldiers are often cited as the largest non-queen termites in Australia, though in truth both Neotermes insularis and Porotermes adamsoni can have larger ones, albeit slightly. They use two weapons to defend their colonies: a pair of sharp toothed mandibles strong enough to draw blood from an human finger and a brownish fluid abundantly produced by the labial gland and secreted through the mouth that act both as a wound-active toxin against "macro" enemies like ants and as a strong inhibitor toward "micro" foes like entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria, making them key players in maintaining an healthy and disease-free environement inside their colonies.

Despite their "ancient" pedigee and usually relatively modestly-sized colonies in nature, under ideal conditions (like those provided by human irrigation, agriculture and buildings) M. darwiniensis can grow multi-millions strong colonies known to consume or damage not only wooden structures but also trees and various plants, plastics, lead sheathing around electric cables and water pipes, bitumen, concrete, paper, bone, ivory, horn, leather, hides, ebonite, asbestos, jute, cotton and other vegetable fibres, silk, woollen fabrics, stored grass hay and even sugar, salt and flour... their impact on human activities (and finances) is so heavy that they are considered the most damaging termites where they are present, even beating other norotiously heavy hitters like Coptotermes! As a final note, it's worth to point out that this species has become enstablished in some parts of the island of New Guinea after being unwittingly brought there inside timber and wooden structures by Australian soldiers during ww2... and in my profile pic aswell :rofl:


374211489_3504826909845844_9180140628669436840_n.jpg
M. darwiniensis soldier surrounded by workers. Note the peculiar lobed pronotum of this species. Pic by CSIRO ScienceImages, Australia.


374573877_3504826873179181_8049717418432500116_n.jpg
A close-up of a rather angered soldier of M. darwiniensis, showing well the robust toothed mandibles and the abundant defensive fluid
secreted among them. Pic by CSIRO ScienceImages; Australia.


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Workers of M. darwiniensis. Note their short but stout mandibles, well adapted to chew trough wood (and more) and even relatively useful
for defense in a pinch. Pic by CSIRO ScienceImages; Australia.

57314.jpg
Ventral close-up shot of the head of a M. darwiniensis soldier, where you can see well the brownish, congealing defensive secretion it has
exuded from its labial gland. Also note the labium and maxillary palps, employed as sensory organs.
Pic by Dr. Jan Sobotnik (TermiteR esearch Team); captive colony.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

ArachnoGod
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Oct 13, 2011
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6,060
Wow unique and huge termites!!! Keep them coming. So this species attacks wooden houses also?
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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@ItalianTermiteMan A blast from the past. Have you been to Australia? My intro was landing in Darwin and a trip out to the Kakadu, then a special trip into Arnhem land. It's a feeling, a sixth sense, the antiquity. I know the wilderness of the US well, but compared to parts of the outback, the US is like a small child compared to a well traveled octogenarian. Walking in a land little changed for the past 200+ million years.
 

ItalianTermiteMan

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 23, 2023
Messages
146
@ItalianTermiteMan A blast from the past. Have you been to Australia? My intro was landing in Darwin and a trip out to the Kakadu, then a special trip into Arnhem land. It's a feeling, a sixth sense, the antiquity. I know the wilderness of the US well, but compared to parts of the outback, the US is like a small child compared to a well traveled octogenarian. Walking in a land little changed for the past 200+ million years.
Nope, never been in Australian. As now only in south-east Asia and central America, but i will accompany a scientific expedition to central Africa in a few months.

Returning to Australia, beside Mastotermes an endemic and interesting termite genus that i would like to see a lot is Drepanotermes.
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
11,428
Nope, never been in Australian.
I really hope you get a chance to spend some time there, boots on the ground. An utterly alien environment and ecosystem from the rest of the world. Of which, termites play a large part. In stretches of the outback they are common fixtures in the scenery with their 'magnetic' mounds up to 5 feet tall. Oriented to have minimal exposure to the sun during mid day to keep things cool inside.
 
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