Termopsidae


Termopsidae is an extinct family of termites in the order Blattodea. The five extant genera formerly included in Termopsidae have recently been treated as part of the newer family Archotermopsidae, leaving only extinct taxa in Termopsidae.
Several prehistoric genera are placed herein, known only from fossils. Since only a small part of the erstwhile diversity of dampwood termites survives, it is rather difficult to assign these to subfamilies. Several seem to represent very ancient members of the family; they may be quite basal Termopsidae, so it is indeed unwarranted to place them into a subfamily at all.
The group was originally described as a subfamily, Termopsinae, by Nils Holmgren in 1911, and was raised to the taxonomic rank of family by Pierre-Paul Grassé in 1949.