New record of Mastotermitidae from Fonseca Basin, Eocene-Oligocene boundary of southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The first representative of the genus Mastotermes Froggatt, 1897 from the Cenozoic of the South America is described here based on seven specimens from the Fonseca Formation, Eocene-Oligocene boundary, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. Today, Mastotermes is geographically restricted to northern Australia, with only one relict species, Mastotermes darwiniensis Froggatt, 1897. However, its fossil record clearly shows a global distribution, with species ranging from the Cretaceous of Myanmar, Russia, Mongolia and China, throughout Cenozoic of mainland Europe and Miocene of Africa, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. Along with Spagotermes costalimai Emerson, 1965, Mastotermes brasiliensis sp. n. is the second fossil termite recorded in the Fonseca strata. This discovery extends the paleo-distribution of this genus into Neotropical South America during the Paleogene.