Bhatti21: adding basic entry first draft

2025-06-23T19:51:11Z

adding basic entry first draft

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{{Short description|Extinct genus of termites}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range= {{Fossilrange|52|50|[[Ypresian]]}}
| image = ZooKeys-148-105-g001 Zophotermes ashoki.jpg
| image_caption = ''Z. ashoki'' holotype
| genus = Zophotermes
| species = ashoki
| authority = [[Michael S. Engel|Engel]] & Singh, 2011
}}

'''''Zophotermes''''' is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[termite]] in the [[Isoptera]] family [[Rhinotermitidae]] known from two [[Eocene]] fossils found in [[India]]. The genus contains a single described species, '''''Zophotermes ashoki'''''.<ref name="Engel2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Engel |first1=M.S. |last2=Grimaldi |first2=D.A. |last3=Nascimbene |first3=P.C. |last4=Singh |first4=H. |year=2011 |title=The termites of Early Eocene Cambay amber, with the earliest record of the Termitidae (Isoptera) |journal= ZooKeys |issue=148 |pages = 105–123 |doi= 10.3897/zookeys.148.1797 |pmid=22287892 |pmc=3264413|doi-access=free |bibcode=2011ZooK..148..105E }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hellemans |first=Simon |last2=Rocha |first2=Mauricio M. |last3=Wang |first3=Menglin |last4=Romero Arias |first4=Johanna |last5=Aanen |first5=Duur K. |last6=Bagnères |first6=Anne-Geneviève |last7=Buček |first7=Aleš |last8=Carrijo |first8=Tiago F. |last9=Chouvenc |first9=Thomas |last10=Cuezzo |first10=Carolina |last11=Constantini |first11=Joice P. |last12=Constantino |first12=Reginaldo |last13=Dedeine |first13=Franck |last14=Deligne |first14=Jean |last15=Eggleton |first15=Paul |date=2024-08-07 |title=Genomic data provide insights into the classification of extant termites |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51028-y |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=6724 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-51028-y |issn=2041-1723|pmc=11306793 }}</ref>

==History and classification==
''Zophotermes'' is known from only two fossils, the [[holotype]] adult and an additional set of wings, both of which are [[Inclusion (mineral)|inclusions]] in transparent chunks of amber. The amber specimens, numbers "Tad-42" and "Tad-97" respectively, are both housed in the fossil collection of the [[Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany]] in [[Lucknow]], India. The holotype is composed of a mostly complete adult, though some areas show distinct compression from the amber after entombment and is of indeterminate sex. Four other specimens have been referred to ''Zophotermes'', Tad-278, Tad-95, Tad-304, and SEMC-F000157. All are placed into ''Zophotermes'' with the notation that they may be specimens of ''Z. ashoki'', but all are too incomplete for a confident placement to species.<ref name="Engel2011"/> Cambay amber dates to between fifty and fifty-two million years old, placing it in the Early to Mid Ypresian age of the Eocene, and was preserved in a [[brackish]] shore environment. The amber formed from a [[Dammar gum|dammar type resin]] which is produced mainly by trees in the family [[Dipterocarpaceae]].<ref name="Rust2010">{{Cite journal |last1=Rust |first1=J. |year=2010 |title=Biogeographic and evolutionary implications of a diverse paleobiota in amber from the early Eocene of India |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA]] |volume=107 |issue=43 |pages=18360–18365 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1007407107|display-authors=etal |pmid=20974929 |pmc=2972964|bibcode=2010PNAS..10718360R |doi-access=free }} {{open access}}</ref> Four of the six ''Zophotermes'' specimens was recovered from a Tadkeshwar lignite mine, located in [[Gujarat State]], during collecting trips in January 2009 while the last two were found in the same mine on a collecting trip in January 2010.<ref name="Engel2011"/> The fossils were first studied by paleoentomologists [[Michael S. Engel]] of the [[American Museum of Natural History]] and Hukam Singh of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleobotany.<ref name="Engel2011"/> Engel and Singh's 2011 [[Type (biology)|type description]] of the new genus and species was published in the online journal ''[[ZooKeys]]''.<ref name="Engel2011"/> The genus name ''Zophotermes'' was coined as a combination of the [[Greek language|Greek]] word ''zophos'' meaning "gloom" or "nether world" and ''[[Termes (genus)|Termes]]'', the type genus of [[Termitidae]]. The [[specific name (zoology)|specific epithet]] ''ashoki'' is in honor of paleontologist Ashok Sahni, a colleague of the authors and a "sage of Indian paleontology".<ref name="Engel2011"/>

==Description==
''Zophotermes'' adults have an overall [[Animal coloration|coloration]] which ranges from dark reddish brown on the thorax and [[pronotum]], dark brown on the abdomen, and very dark brown to black on the head with the [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]] mouth parts being lighter brown. The holotype has a length of {{convert|4.9|mm|in}} and sports wings that are {{convert|6.0|mm|in}}. Adults have a narrow oval head, with small round compound eyes, and [[Simple eye in invertebrates|ocelli]] which are separated from the compound eyes. The antennae are generally moniliform in structure, thus having an appearance similar to a string of beads. Due to the preservation of the specimen, the total number of antenna segments is unknown. The antenna segments which are visible show medium amounts of [[seta]]e. The legs have a moderate amount of setae and the tibia hosts three pairs of spines, called tibial spurs. Both the abdomen and the wing bases have scattered setae, and the membrane of the wings is pimplate.<ref name="Engel2011"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q8074283}}

[[Category:Termite genera]]
[[Category:Ypresian insects]]
[[Category:Insects described in 2011]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2011]]
[[Category:Cenozoic insects of Asia]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Michael S. Engel]]
[[Category:Monotypic Blattodea genera]]
[[Category:Monotypic prehistoric insect genera]]

Zophotermes - Revision history

Bhatti21: adding basic entry first draft