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A giant termite from the Late Miocene of Styria, Austria (Isoptera).

Engel MS, Gross M

Division of Entomology (Paleoentomology), Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1501 Crestline Drive, Suite 140, Lawrence, KS, 66049-2811, USA, msengel@ku.edu.

A giant termite is described and figured from the Late Miocene of the Styrian Basin in southeastern Austria. Gyatermes styriensis gen. n. et sp. n. is represented by a relatively complete forewing, with basal scale. The fossil approximates in size the largest of all termites today and is the largest fossil termite on record. The presence of this species in the Late Miocene fauna of Europe indicates that climatic conditions were appropriate for the persistence of species and colonies requiring relatively stable, warm conditions. The genus is primitive in overall features but shares some similarity with the dampwood termites.

Published 13 January 2009 in Naturwissenschaften, 96(2): 289-95.
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