Description of a new termite species from Cyprus and the Aegean area: Reticulitermes aegeus sp. nov.

Reticulitermes aegeus sp. nov. (Rhinotermitidae) is described, based on samples of alates and soldiers collected on the island of Cyprus. The range of the species includes the island of Lošinj (Croatia), north-eastern Greece (Halkidiki and north-eastern Greece), Eastern Peloponnese, Northern Turkey, Crete, Cyprus and Amorgos (Cyclades Islands). The ascertained range of R. aegeus does not overlap with the ranges of other species occurring in the eastern Mediterranean lands. From the phylogenetic point of view, R. aegeus belongs to the eastern Mediterranean Reticulitermes clade, that also includes R. urbis, R. balkanensis and R. clypeatus, as well as taxa not yet described from Turkey and the island of Samos. R. aegeus is genetically distinct from other eastern Mediterranean Reticulitermes species, while its morphological characters do not allow a reliable diagnosis without further support. DNA analysis provides such corroboration.