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Data from: Termites became the dominant decomposers of the tropics after two diversification pulses

Hellemans, Simon1; Wang, Menglin1; Jouault, Corentin2; Bourguignon, Thomas1

Published Apr 15, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8fk

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Abstract

Inferring insect diversification patterns is challenging due to the incompleteness of the fossil record, but major evolutionary questions can be addressed using thoroughly sampled phylogenetic trees. Here, we investigated the diversification dynamics of termites from molecular phylogenies that included 2,800 samples representing 1,377 putative species of the nearly 3,000 described. Our analyses, employing both likelihood and Bayesian birth-death models, consistently estimated near-zero extinction rates despite fossil evidence of extinctions. Consequently, we focused on net diversification rates and identified two consistent rate shifts. The first shift occurred near the end of the Cretaceous, likely illustrating the diversification of Kalotermitidae, which were then outcompeted by the Neoisoptera. The second shift involved multiple lineages of Neoisoptera, which diversified as they expanded globally at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Considering biogeographic history, biotic and abiotic factors, our data indicate that termites rose to dominance as the primary insect decomposers in tropical ecosystems in response to global climatic shifts.