Anaphothrips sineconus, Alavi & Yazdanian & Minaei, 2018

Alavi, Jalil, Yazdanian, Mohsen & Minaei, Kambiz, 2018, Anaphothrips sineconus and Hyalopterothrips brunneus, two new species of Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera) from Iran, Zootaxa 4388 (3), pp. 437-443 : 438-440

Anaphothrips sineconus sp. n.

( Figs 1–6 )

Female apterous. Body white to pale brown, often white with one pair of pale brown spots laterally on each tergite as well as on meso and metanotum ( Fig. 1 ). Legs pale brown; antennal segments I, III–IV white, II and V–IX shaded pale brown ( Fig. 3 ). Head wider than long; with two small conical tubercles in front of vertex, ocelli absent ( Fig. 2 ). ocellar setae vestigial, pair I present; eyes with five pigmented facets. Antenna 9-segmented, without rows of microtrichia, suture between VI and VII oblique; segment III without and IV with simple sense cone, VII with one rather stout sense cone ( Fig. 3 ). Pronotum with very fine transverse lines of sculpture; without posteroangular setae; with four pairs of posteromarginal setae ( Fig. 2 ). Spinula on mesosternum endofurca weak, incomplete ( Fig. 4 ). Abdominal tergites with a few weak transverse lines, and 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla. posterior margin of abdominal tergite VIII smooth; tergite IX with one pair of campaniform sensilla ( Fig. 5 ), setae S1 subequal to S2 and equidistant from each other, mediodorsal setae short; tergite X shorter than IX, anal setae short. Abdominal sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae; III–VII with 3 pairs of posteromarginal setae, posterior margin of sternite VII not clearly distinguishable medially as it is largely membranous, setae S1 slightly ahead of S2, and likely close to posterior margin ( Fig. 6 ).

Measurements in microns. (holotype female in microns). Distended body length 1170. Head, length 75; width cross cheeks 117. Pronotum, length 90; width 150. Pterothorax, length 175; width 200. Tergite IX, mediodorsal setae 12–13; posteromarginal setae S1 43 –50; setae S2 76–58. Tergite X posteromarginal setae S1 42. Antennal segments I–IX L(W): 10(22), 30(21), 25(15), 25(16), 25(17), 26(13), 12 (10), 11(7), 15(5).

Male. Unknown.

Material studied. Holotype female (apterous), IRAN, Khorasan-e Razavi province, Mahvelat, Miyandehi, from Haloxylon persicum [ Amaranthaceae ], 4.iv.2013, A. Nemati & M. Yazdanian. Paratypes: 9 females with same data as holotype.

Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin words sine (less) and conus (cone), and refers to the absence of a sense cone on antennal segment III.

Comments. The new species is unique among members of Anaphothrips genus by having no sense cone on antennal segment III, a simple sense cone on antennal segment IV, five pigmented facets on each compound eye, only one pair campaniform sensilla on tergite IX, and no dorsal split on tergite X. These character states are considered related to the extreme aptery of this species within the genus Anaphothrips , with the consequent reduction in many character states. A. sineconus is similar in body structure to two Australian grass-living species, A. moundi and A. woodi . They share the number of antennal segments, and lack wings and ocelli. Almost all Anaphothrips species are macropterous, although in some species wing polymorphism is seen, and some species are known only from micropterous or apterous adults ( Mound & Masumoto 2009; Mound et al. 2018).

The sense cone on antennal segment III is absent in the new species, while in most Anaphothrips it is forked, although simple in at least five species— A. aptilotus , A. glenysae , A. moundi , A. woodi and A. varii ( Mound & Masumoto 2009, Mound et al. 2018). Moreover, the sense cone on antennal segment IV is simple in the new species, whereas in all species of Anaphothrips , this sense cone is forked. Generally, the number of pigmented facets in the eyes of Anaphothrips species is six, but in the Australian species A. monga , A. moundi and A. woodi pigmented facets are weak or absent ( Mound et al. 2018; Mound & Masumoto 2009), and in A. sineconus there are only five pigmented. Nakahara (1989, 1996) and Bhatti (2003) showed that the number of pigmented facets may not be a constant character, and is generally variable in members of a species and within each genus, or sexes, or even in the two eyes of a single specimen.

A. sineconus with no dorsal split on tergite X is distinguished from all other species of Anaphothrips in which they have complete or incomplete dorsal split on tergite X. In two most similar species, A. moundi and A. woodi , the split is incomplete and complete, respectively. Furthermore, the latter two species also differ from A. sineconus by having unusually large spiracles laterally and narrow craspedum of small lobes or teeth posteriorly on tergite VIII. Finally, the new species discussed here, by living on Amaranthaceae , is different in habitat from the two grass-living species, A. moundi and A. woodi .

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Anaphothrips sineconus sp. n. Female: (1) Body, (2) Head & pronotum, (3) Antenna, (4) Pro- and metasternum, (5) Abdominal tergites VII–X, (6) Abdominal sternite VII.