Tertidae

Tertidae is a taxonomic name that has appeared in zoological literature as a proposed family-level group within termites. Its precise circumscription and validity have been variable, and it is not widely recognized in modern, consensus classifications. In many contemporary references, Tertidae is treated as an invalid name or as a synonym of other termite families; as such, the taxa formerly assigned to Tertidae are typically redistributed to groups within Termitoidea or to families within Blattodea following taxonomic revisions that redefined termites as a lineage within Blattodea.

The history of the name reflects broader changes in termite systematics, including shifts in higher-level ordering from Isoptera to Blattodea and ongoing reconsideration of morphological and molecular data. In places where it is still cited, Tertidae has sometimes been described as containing small, eusocial, wood- or detritus-feeding insects with caste-based society, though such characterizations are not consistent across sources and are not treated as diagnostic in current taxonomy.

Classification status: not widely accepted as a valid family in major databases; may appear as a synonym, obsolete, or misapplied name depending on the source. For researchers, the recommended practice is to verify current status in up-to-date taxonomic resources such as the Catalogue of Life, ITIS, or recent entomological revisions.

See also: Termitidae, Blattodea, Isoptera.