Termitaradus

Termitaradus
File:Termitaradus mitnicki (dorsal view).jpg
Termitaradus mitnicki female in Dominican amber
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Family:	Termitaphididae
Genus:	Termitaradus Myers, 1924
Species
see text

Termitaradus is a small tropicopolitan genus of true bugs placed in the family Termitaphididae. As is typical for the family, living members of Termitaradus are small, being an average of 2 millimetres (0.079 in) to 4 millimetres (0.16 in), and flattened with laminae extending out from each body segment giving a round scale like appearance. The same is true for the extinct species with the exception of T. protera which reaches 7 millimetres (0.28 in) in length. All members of Termitaphididae are inquilines lodging in the nests of host species of termites, with Termitaradus species known only from the family Rhinotermitidae. Though considered a separate family in Aradoidea it has been suggested by Drs David Grimaldi and Michael Engel in 2008 that Termataphididae may in fact be highly derived members of Aradidae. The second genus placed in Termitaphididae, Termitaphis, contains the monotypic species Termitaphis circumvallata which inhabits nests of Termitidae species termintes in Colombia.

Species

The eight living species are found world wide in the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia while three extinct species are known from Miocene Dominican amber and the third from Late Oligocene to Early Miocene Mexican amber.

• T. annandalei
• T. australiensis
• †T. avitinquilinus (Dominican Amber)
• †T. dominicanus (Dominican amber)
• T. guianae
• T. jamaicensis
• T. mexicana
• †T. mitnicki (Dominican amber)
• T. panamensis
• †T. protera (Mexican amber)
• T. subafra
• T. trinidadensis