Molecular relationships among European samples of Reticulitermes (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae)

Taxonomy and phyletic relationships of the European termites of the holarctic genus Reticulitermes are highly debated and poorly known. Sequencing analyses of the complete cytochrome oxidase subunit II and of a fragment of 16S rDNA mitochondrial genes were performed on 21 Italian and French populations. Distance, parsimony, and maximum-likelihood evaluations on single and combined data sets confirm the presence in central peninsular Italy of R. lucifugus lucifugus, but demonstrate that a coastal Tuscan population and the Sardinian ones pertain to the Corsican subspecies R. lucifugus corsicus, whose distribution appears therefore transtyrrenian. Northeastern Italian samples are highly differentiated from presently analyzed R. lucifugus and constitute a new entity, possibly more related to the Japanese R. speratus. Finally, the French R. santonensis and the North American R. flavipes appear strongly related, so that the supposed synonymy between the two taxa must be accepted.