REVISED TAXONOMY AND ILLUSTRATED KEY FOR Bulbitermes OF SABAH: INTEGRATING MORPHOLOGY AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS

Nivaarani Arumugam, Homathevi Rahman

Abstract


This study presents a taxonomic assessment of Bulbitermes Emerson (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. These arboreal, wood-feeding termites are important decomposers in tropical forests and are typically associated with undisturbed habitats, inhabiting various forms of decaying wood. However, species-level identification within Bulbitermes remains challenging due to high morphological similarity among taxa. This study aimed to refine morphological taxonomy, update the species checklist, and develop an illustrated identification key for Bulbitermes in Sabah. Fresh specimens were collected from 11 localities using a standardised belt transect method and supplementary sampling, and additional material from the BORNEENSIS collection at the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, was examined. A total of 15 termite taxa initially assigned to Bulbitermes, comprising six described species and nine provisional taxa, were evaluated based on soldier and worker caste morphology. Of these, 13 taxa were confirmed as Bulbitermes, while two were reassigned to the genera Ceylonitermes and Lacessititermes. Four provisional taxa (sp. A–D) were resolved and assigned to described species based on consistent diagnostic morphological characters and overlapping morphometric variation. Two taxa are retained as provisionally identified forms, Bulbitermes cf. germanus and Bulbitermes cf. prabhae, while one taxon (Bulbitermes sp. E) remains unresolved due to insufficient material. Observations from 425 colonies, supported by phenetic cluster analysis using the MultiVariate Statistical Package (MVSP), corroborated species groupings and taxonomic decisions. The results were used to develop an illustrated identification key and provide an updated checklist of Bulbitermes in Sabah. This study provides a foundation for future integrative taxonomic research incorporating molecular data to further resolve species boundaries within the genus.


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