Since the human being mastered the art of intercontinental sea travel, we have known stories of land animals that travel as stowaways to colonize new lands. Some species succeeded, others did not. Now we have discovered a species that did not need humans to take to the sea and colonize new lands. A species that took the lead in navigating the oceans (and it is not the first time that they have taken advantage of us): termites.
Some traveling insects.
A recent study of populations of termites of the kalotermítida family throughout the world has concluded that in recent years these insects have carried out at least 40 transoceanic crossings over the last 50 million years.
Explains Aleš Buček, researcher at the university Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and first author of the study, that this type of termites are very good at crossing oceans, which is normal considering that they usually live in wood, a material that can easily act as a ship. In addition to these accidental ships, the termites’ most recent voyages may have been aboard man-made ships.
recolonizing.
The team in charge of the study gives an example of these trips through the case of the krakatau islands, which were devastated and devoid of animal life in 1883 following a volcanic eruption. The termites managed to resettle in the area for the next 100 years, presumably after crossing the waters.
A map of the natural history of the species.
The study concluded that the kalotermítidae family of termites originated in South America about 84 million years ago. Buček’s analysis and his team created a family tree of this family, analyzing the location of each member (its geographic location and within this family tree).
The study was published in the magazine Molecular Biology and Evolution. To reach their conclusion, the researchers analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (strands of DNA found in the mitochondria and whose structure is inherited matrilineally) from 120 species of kalotermítidas throughout the world. With this they managed to represent a quarter of the genetic diversity of this extensive family of termites.
the kalothermitids.
Although in some respects termites resemble ants, the closest insects to these are cockroaches. These two groups shared a last common ancestor about 150 million years ago. Among the many differences between these groups of insects is their social life, and that is that termites, unlike cockroaches, live in colonies.
Some families of termites live in large subterranean colonies of intricate tunnels, although they sometimes extend vertically above ground level. These colonies can have millions of members. However, the families of the kalotermítidas or kalotermitidae (representing the second largest known group of termites) live in more modest colonies, of less than 5000 individuals, and prefer wood as a place to train them.
Primitive way of life.
This, and the fact that they separated almost 100 million years ago from the rest of the termite species, means that until now entomologists have considered this family as “primitive”. However, explains Buček, this study contradicts this notion, since it considers that small termite colonies are usually connected to each other, including through the use of underground tunnels. This would denote a more complex social structures than those traditionally attributed to them.
Image | Aleš Buček
