Mesandrothrips clavipes (Karny) comb.n.

(Figs 8, 10)

Haplothrips clavipes Karny, 1920: 41 .

Xylaplothrips clavipes (Karny); Pitkin, 1973: 331.

This species is based on one of the earliest thrips specimens collected in Australia. It was taken in the Kimberley area of Western Australia by the Mjoberg Expedition 1910-1913. The available syntypes are poorly preserved and are difficult to study. Karny deliberately mounted specimens of Phlaeothripidae ventral side uppermost, because he wanted to look at the mouth parts. As a result, for many of his thrips species it is not possible to see most characters on the dorsal surface, including the pronotal setae. This species is interpreted here in the sense of Pitkin (1973). However, there is likely to be a group of similar-looking species associated with dead branches in Australia that share the following character states: body and femora brown, tibiae and tarsi yellow, antennal segments III–V paler than VI–VIII and with basal thirds yellow (Fig. 10); head with vertex weakly sculptured, postocular setae capitate and shorter than dorsal length of eyes, maxillary stylets wide apart, V-shaped, and retracted almost to postocular setae; pronotal am setae minute, aa setae smaller than remaining three pairs; mesopresternum entire (Fig. 8); fore tarsus with tooth; fore wing sub-basal setae S3 weakly capitate; tergite IX setae S1 bluntly pointed and shorter than tube.

Material studied. Western Australia, Kimberley, 1 male syntype in the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. New South Wales, Lansdowne, 1 female from Malaisia [ Moraceae], 20.i.2001; Chichester Forest, 1 male from Nothofagus branch, 24.xii.2000.