Desmidothrips Mound, 1977

Masumoto, Masami & Okajima, Shûji, 2019, Review of the Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera) in Japan, Zootaxa 4564 (2), pp. 301-326 : 316

Desmidothrips Mound

Desmidothrips Mound, 1977: 149 . Type species Desmidothrips walkerae Mound , by original designation.

Wing fully developed. Head with no long setae; postocular setae scattered, fore ocellus about half diameter of hind ocelli. Maxillary palps 3-segmented, segment II not subdivided. Antennae 9-segmented, segments III–IV with liner sensoria having internal discoidal markings. Pronotum without long setae, but a pair of posteromarginal setae stouter than discal setae; notopleural suture distinct. Mesonotum with a median pair of setae medially. Metascutum reticulate, with median pair of setae near posterior margin. Fore wing with a long transverse dark band, pale at base and apex; clavus with 4–7 veinal setae; posteromarginal fringe cilia not wavy. Fore tarsus with recurved ventral hamus. Abdominal sternites with 2–6 discal setae laterally, 4–5 pairs of posteromarginal setae, two pairs of accessary setae at submedian area near posterior margin on VII. Male abdominal tergites without tubercles, tergite I with paired longitudinal ridges, tergite IX without clasper.

Remarks. This genus shows a divided distribution between New Caledonia, New Zealand and Japan. In this it is similar to Paroxythrips , a thripine genus that is also known from Japan and Australia ( Masumoto & Okajima 2017). It is closely related to the Australian genera Desmothrips and Andrewarthaia , and to the South American genus Stomatothrips ( Mound 1977; Pereyra & Mound 2010; Mound et al., 2017), in having abdominal sternites III–VII with discal setae laterally, and they also share narrow linear sensoria on antennal segments III–IV. However, these three genera have the mesonotum with more than two pairs of median setae, whereas in Desmidothrips the mesonotum has only one pair of median setae. Desmothrips is known as the ecological equivalent of the large Holarctic genus Aeolothrips . Despite their similarities these two genera are not closely related ( Pereyra & Mound 2010). An Indian monotypic genus, Aduncothrips is also similar to Desmidothrips but the former genus has fore wing with longitudinal dark band along posterior margin ( Ananthakrishnan, 1963).