First Documentation of Two Odontotermes Species (Blattodea: Termitidae) from Assam, India

Termites represent one of the most ecologically and economically important groups of insects, yet their true diversity in northeastern India remains insufficiently explored. The genus Odontotermes is among the most species rich in the Oriental region, but many of its members remain poorly documented due to their cryptic habits and overlapping morphological traits. Assam, despite its rich biodiversity and varied forest ecosystems, has historically lacked comprehensive faunistic surveys of this genus. In this study, two termite species—Odontotermes annulicornis Xia & Fan, 1982 and Odontotermes foveafrons Xia & Fan, 1982 (Blattodea: Termitidae)—are recorded for the first time from Assam, India. Both species were reported only recently from India and were otherwise known solely from their type localities in Yunnan, China. Diagnostic notes, locality information, and brief comparative remarks are provided to support accurate identification. These new state records expand the known Indian distribution of Odontotermes and contribute valuable baseline data for future faunistic, ecological, and applied research in northeastern India, a region where termite diversity remains under documented but highly significant from both ecological and developmental perspectives. Key words: Odontotermes, Assam, new records, morphometric measurements