Mastotermitidae is a family of

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

s with one sole living species, ''

Mastotermes darwiniensis ''Mastotermes darwiniensis'', common names giant northern termite and Darwin termite, is a termite species found only in northern Australia. It is the most primitive extant termite species. Contrary to common belief, this species does not form m ...

'' which is found only in northern Australia. The remaining genera of this family are only known from the fossil record.

Genera

Numerous

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

have been described in the Mastotermitidae, as well as in the genus '' Mastotermes''. The family seems to have had a worldwide distribution until just a few million years ago, when all but the ancestors of the giant northern termite became

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

for unknown reasons. Genera included in the Mastotermitidae are:Krishna, K., D.A. Grimaldi, V. Krishna, & M.S. Engel (2013) Treatise on the Isoptera of the world. ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 377: 1-2704. # †'' Anisotermes'' Zhao et al

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

, Myanmar,

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

# †'' Blattotermes'' Riek (Eocene-Oligocene of France, USA, and Australia) # †'' Garmitermes'' Engel, Grimaldi, &

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

# †'' Idanotermes'' Engel Baltic amber, Eocene # †'' Khanitermes'' Engel, Grimaldi, & Krishna Shar-Tolgoy Formation, Dzun-Bain Formation, Mongolia,

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

# †'' Magnifitermes'' Jouault, Engel, & Nel

, Myanmar,

# '' Mastotermes'' Froggatt (Cretaceous-Recent of Europe, Central America and Australia) # †'' Miotermes'' Rosen (Miocene of Croatia, Germany, and France) # †'' Spargotermes'' Emerson (Miocene-Pliocene of Brazil) # †'' Valditermes'' Jarzembowski

Weald Clay Weald Clay or the Weald Clay Formation is a Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rock unit underlying areas of South East England, between the North and South Downs, in an area called the Weald Basin. It is the uppermost unit of the Wealden Group of ...

, United Kingdom,

Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.6 ± 2 Ma and 125.77 (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by the Valangi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastotermitidae Termites Blattodea families Extant Hauterivian first appearances