Ancient Termite Megalopolis Found in Brazil

Researchers have found some 200 million termite mounds that stretch for thousands of miles across northeastern Brazil.  The area measures 88,000 square miles an area larger than the state of Minnesota.  They stand about 10 feet tall, about 30 feet wide, and may be up to 4000 years old.   The only way to see these mounds is by using a drone or one of the maps online.

The mounds were created by a single termite species and are not nests but are the waste from them building their tunnels underground.  The tunnels allow the termites access to food.  The researchers discovered that the mounds are equivalent to 4000 Great Pyramids and is the largest structure built by one single species.

The mounds were found when the land was being cleared for pastureland.  When they tested the soil, they found that the mounds were possibly created between 690 and 3820 years ago which make them the oldest known termite mounds in the world.

We still don’t know the exact physical structure of the nests and the queen’s chamber has yet to be found.