Re: Jurassic Termite Nests

[Ronald Orenstein <ron.orenstein@rogers.com>]

At 03:34 PM 3/3/2004, Dann Pigdon wrote:
> The most numerous species (ie. most of the world's terrestrial biomass)
> feed almost exclusively on grasses. I'm just wondering whether termites
> were a lot less common before grasses took off. Or would ferns have been
> a suitable food source? (they couldn't have been any less nutritious
> than spinifex grass)

My understanding is that the mound-building, grass-eating termites are 
considered to be much more derived than the wood-eating varieties - as one 
might expect.  Acording to Resh and Carde, The Encyclopedia of Insects 
(Academic Press), the earliest fossil termites date to the Cretaceous, 
about 130 MYA.  You can see a piece of Upper Cretaceous fossil wood with 
termite borings and faeces, representing the oldest known termite nest, at 
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/gsc/calgary/canpal/pastlives/35_e.html.  The site 
notes that fossil termite nests are rare.


--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
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