Three new species of Rugitermes (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae) from Peru and Bolivia

Abstract

The soldier of Rugitermes aridussp. nov. is described from a xeric, termite-depauperate region of central Peru. Rugitermes rufussp. nov. and R. volcanensissp. nov. are described from soldiers and dealated imagos collected in a mesic forest of Amboró National Park in western Bolivia. The imago of R. rufus is unique among all described Rugitermes species in that the head capsule is reddish orange and the pronotum is brown. The imago head and pronotum are both brown in R. volcanensis. A phylogenetic and GMYC barcode analyses were performed with the COI gene. These analyses confirmed the three new species and revealed a high undescribed diversity of Rugitermes in the New World.