The fontanellar gun is a termite defense mechanism in the form of a horn-like frontal projection (nasus) on the head of the soldier caste which is capable of expelling chemical weaponry at a distance, a trait exclusive to the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. It is primarily used to ward off predators such as ants.[1][2][3]
- ^ Prestwich, Glenn D. (May 1979). "Chemical Defense by Termite Soldiers". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 5 (3): 459–480. Bibcode:1979JCEco...5..459P. doi:10.1007/bf00987930. S2CID 40048208.
- ^ Sobotnik, Jan; Jirosova, Anna; Hanus, Robert (September 2010). "Chemical warfare in termites". Journal of Insect Physiology. 56 (9): 1012–1021. Bibcode:2010JInsP..56.1012S. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.02.012. PMID 20223240.
- ^ Miura, T.; Matsumoto, T. (2000). "Soldier morphogenesis in a nasute termite: discovery of a disc-like structure forming a soldier nasus". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 267 (1449): 1185–1189. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1127. PMC 1690655. PMID 10902684.