Survey of the Termites (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae) in a Formosan Pangolin Habitat

The Formosan pangolin, Manis pentadactyla pentadactyla Linnaeus, is an endangered species currently. To understand the termite species available as pangolin food sources, a field survey was conducted in a 120-ha habitat in Southeast Taiwan. One hundred and thirty three termite samples were collected, representing 7 species in 6 genera and 3 families. These were Kalotermitidae: Glyptotermes fuscus Oshima, G. satsumensis (Matsumura), and Neotermes koshunensis (Shiraki); Rhinotermitidae: Reticulitermes flaviceps (Oshima); Termitidae: Nasutitermes parvonasutus (Shiraki), Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki), and Pericapritermes nitobei (Shiraki). Based on abundance, colony size, and lifetype, we concluded that O. formosanus and R. flaviceps are likely to represent the major termite species consumed by Formosan pangolins.