Subterranian termite genus Odontotermes ( Blattaria : Isoptera : Termitidae ) from Chhattisgarh , India with its annotated checklist and revised key

Acknowledgments: Authors are grateful to Director, ZSI, for giving permission and enthusiasm to carry out the present work. They are thankful to Chhattisgarh CAMPA and Forest Department for funding and logistic support. Thanks are also given to the research scholars of Chhattisgarh CAMPA Project for their unconditional help and support. Abstract: The paper deals with eight subterranean species of termites of the genus Odontotermes from Chhattisgarh, India. Taxonomic descriptions along with photographs and key to all species have been provided. Among them six species are reported for the first time from the state. These six species are added to the previously known eight species resulting in a total of 14 species of termite belonging to four genera under the family Termitidae from Chhattisgarh.

The forest ecosystem is composed by a large majority of insects.Among the known ones, termites (Order: Blattaria; Infraorder: Isoptera) are one of the most interesting biological agents.Termites being decomposers play a vital role in forest growth and hence act as excellent indicators of soil and forest health.They play a significant role in increasing soil fertility besides being food for several animals including man.These insects are predominantly distributed in the tropics, more so in the humid tropics and sub-tropical regions.
India is rich in termite diversity; harbors 286 species belonging to 52 genera under six families representing almost 10% of the world's termite fauna (Krishna et al. 2013).Except for a few scattered works the termite fauna of central India is insufficiently documented.Sarma et al. (1975) while studying the wood destroying termites of India, recorded 21 species under 10 genera.Termite fauna of Kanha National Park was studied by Chhotani (1997).Verma & Thakur (1982)  The present paper is based on the taxonomic study of eight species of termites, among them six species are new records to the state, thus six species are added to the previously recorded eight species by Saha & Basak (2011), resulting in a total of 14 species of termites from Chhattisgarh.

Study period
The specimens were collected from different parts of Chhattisgarh during faunistic surveys conducted by ZSI (Fig. 1), Kolkata from July 2011 to December 2012.Collections were mostly made during the monsoon (July to September) and post monsoon (October and November) seasons.

Study Area
Chhattisgarh is a newly carved out state from the state of Madhya Pradesh, in 2001.The state extends between 17 0 46'-24 0 8'N & 80 0 15'-84 0 24'E in the central Indian landscape having a total area of 1,35,194km 2 .Nearly 44% of the state area is covered by forests and a major part (35736.239km 2 ) is outside protected areas.Biogeographically, the state is in the Deccan Plateau and includes 6D-Chota Nagpur Plateau, 6C-Eastern Highland and 6E-Central Highland (Rodgers et al. 2002).
The state is surrounded by the upper Gangetic Plains in the north, Godavari Valley in the south, Madhya Pradesh in the west, and Odisha and Jharkhand in the east.The state has a rich repository of natural resources and biological wealth but is under severe threat due to rapid encroachment of forests for agriculture, urbanization and from hunting.Till date no serious attempt has ever been made to explore the fauna of the state in a systematic manner.

Data Collection and Analysis
Termite specimens were collected from mounds, fallen logs, below leaf litter and cow dung by using brush moistened with alcohol (Image 1a-d).Specimens collected from different sites were preserved separately in 70% alcohol in 5ml glass vials.Attempts were made to collect soldiers specifically, since termite taxonomy is based mainly on the head morphology of the soldiers for all species.During each collection event different habitat parameters such as vegetation type, ground cover, shrub density, distance from water body etc. were collected along with the geographic coordinates of the site with the help of Garmin Oregon 550 GPS device.Coordinates thus gathered were further used to prepare maps of collection localities in the program DIVA-GIS version 7.5.0 (Fig. 1).The collected specimens were brought back to ZSI Kolkata laboratory for identification and further study.Identification was done following Roonwal & Chhotani (1989) and Chhotani (1997).Material examined: 4157/H11.12.ix.2012,Surguja District, Mainpat, Jaljali, 1 vial with several soldiers and worker (sev.S and W.), coll. A. Raha & party, ex.soil under leaf litter.
Remarks: The species is a variable one since a number of species have been synonymised under it (Chhotani 1997).In the study area the species was collected from soil under cow dung and stone.On one occasion it was also collected from a mound, which is an unusual abode, since it is not known as a mound-builder species in India (Roonwal & Chhotani 1989).Remarks: One of the most common mound building species in northern India and recorded from a mound in a mango orchard.Bastar District, Jagdalpur, Marenga, 1 vial with sev. S. and W., coll. Renu Kujur;4183/H11, 17.ix.2012, Surguja District, Tara, Fatehpur Talab, 1vial with sev. S. and W., coll. A. Raha & party, ex.soil near water body.
Remarks: Common mound building species in the Oriental region including some parts of the Paleartic region.It has been reported as a serious pest of several crop plantations and forests including wood works in building (Roonwal & Chhotani 1989;Maiti & Saha 1998).

Discussion
The subterranean genus Odontotermes is a very common genus containing 41 species in India (Thakur 1981;Chhotani 1997;Maiti & Saha 1998) against a world total of 199 species (Krishna et al. 2013).The genus is widely distributed covering Ethiopian, Oriental, Palaearctic and Papuan region.The record of so many species is no surprise for a vast ecologically varied subcontinent like India, where many more are awaiting discovery.The record of eight species from the study area is quite possible in the primary survey, since the area is very dry with lateritic soil that serves as the limiting factor for termite distribution.The morphological taxonomy in termites is based on minor differences that are often difficult to appreciate, so that species taxonomy remains problematic than that of higher taxa.For example, the closely related species Odontotermes horni and O. feae are identified based on relative placement of tooth on the inner face of the left mandible.However, other morphological features of this species are less convincing to isolate.Most species of termites obviously differ in their feature of biology, ecology and behavior, which are least studied so far in India.Hence, all these aspects need careful investigation in the backdrop of taxonomic studies.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.The distribution sites of termites.