Isoptera by Creataceous species and low-living species diversity include Mastotermitidae, Hodotermitidae, and Termopsidae The three families are the oldest living lineage as shown in Figure Modern lower termites characterized by moderate Tertiary and living species diversity include Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, and probably Serritermitidae Distribution Global generic distribution of termites is shown in Figure Termites occur between the latitudes of 30–45NB40–45S and are mainly distributed in tropical regions, especially in western and central Africa, southeast Asia, northeastern Australia, and South America The species diversity drops from 10 degrees north and south of the equator, but this gradient is not uniform on both sides of the equator (Figure 3) The three groups of termitesFprimitive lower, modern lower, and higher termitesFshow different distributions Primitive lower termites show a fragmental or disjunctive distribution The Mastotermitidae have only one species, Mastotermes darwiniensis, which is distributed in the savanna of northern Australia, although more than 20 species of Tertiary fossils are known from Europe, Australia, and North and South America The Hodotermitidae including three genera (Hodotermes, Microhodotermes, and Anacanthotermes) and 15 species of grass feeders are distributed in the savanna and arid grassland of Africa and Asia although the family was widely distributed (Spain, Brazil, Europe, Japan, United States) in the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods Hodotermes and Microhodotermes occur in Africa, while Anacanthotermes occurs in north African deserts, the Middle East, and southern India 411 The Termopsidae containing 20 living species show an amphitropical distribution: Three species of Porotermes are distributed in temperate regions of three southern continents (one species in each of Chile, Australia, and South Africa) Several species of Stolotermes are found in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Africa, whereas the other three genera are distributed in the temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere (Archotermopsis in Kashmir, India, Zootermopsis in North America, and Hodotermopsis in Japan, Vietnam, and China) Figure Latitudinal gradients of termite generic richness north and south of the equator Reproduced from Eggleton, 2000 Figure Global generic distribution of termites The darker the square the higher the generic richness Maximum generic richness is the southern Cameroon square Reproduced from Eggleton, 2000