Scientists have discovered a third species of the genus thermite Proneotermes, one hundred years after the second, which inhabits dry forests in Colombia.
His name ‘Proneotermes macondianus’ is inspired by the magical realism of the fictional town of “Macondo” novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, by Gabriel García Márquez Nobel prize.
The termitólogos Casalla Robin and Judith Korb of the University of Freiburg and Rudolf H. Scheffrahn, University of Florida, described the new species in the journal ZooKeys from unique shapes and colors, and genetic characteristics.
“Macondianus” refers to the fictional town of “Macondo” in the novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude ‘written by Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. Macondo represents a microcosm forgotten in the history of Colombia with unimaginable events. According to history, the magic kingdom was finally wiped off the map by the giant storms in the Caribbean as a form of divine punishment for the violation of Biblical laws of genetics, incest.
” P. macondianus may have been one of those characters involved in the novel during the destruction of Macondo, which has not been recognized until now , ” said lead author Robin Casalla.
The soldiers of this species have a characteristic, elongated rectangular heads, about 5 -. 7 mm long, ranging in color from black (at the tip) to orange brown (on the back) P. macondianus has a voracious appetite for dry wood, especially thin branches of less than 2 cm in diameter, and lives in small colonies of about 20 individuals. Although some dry wood termites are considered pests in some urban areas, P. macondianu s only live in nature and prefers dry tropical forests.
