Anaphothrips chortinus, Mound & Masumoto, 2009

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2009, Australian Thripinae of the Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera), with three new genera and thirty-three new species, Zootaxa 2042 (1), pp. 1-76 : 26

Anaphothrips chortinus sp. n.

( Figs 44–45 )

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow; tergites II–VII with paired brown areas laterally, pterothorax weakly shaded laterally; antennal segment I white, II and IV–IX brown, III mainly yellow; fore wings weakly shaded, clavus darkest. Head wider than long; reticulate behind eyes, weakly sculptured in ocellar triangle ( Fig. 49 ); ocellar setae III on margins of triangle just anterior to hind ocelli; eyes with no pigmented facets. Antennae 9-segmented; forked sensorium on III short and curved; II with short microtrichia on transverse lines; VI with short pedicel ( Fig. 50 ). Pronotum with sculpture markings. Metascutum reticulate ( Fig. 48 ), median setae well posterior to anterior margin, MCS present. Fore wing first vein with about 10 setae basally, 2 medially and 2 distally; second vein with about 10 setae; clavus with 6 veinal setae plus one seta at base. Abdominal tergites with weak reticulate sculpture medially, laterally with prominent dentate microtrichia ( Fig. 51 ); VIII with spiracle large, posterior margin with comb of microtrichia of which the bases are fused to form a continuous craspedum. Sternites with dentate microtrichia laterally on sculpture lines.

Measurements (holotype, in microns). Body length 1550. Head, length 130; width across eyes 150. Pronotum, length 130; maximum width 180. Fore wing, length 650; median width 50; first vein longest seta in basal row 15. Tergite IV S1 setae 12. Tergite IX, MD setae 12; PM S1 setae 85. Tergite X PM S1 setae 90. Antennal segments III–IX, 45, 45, 45, 40, 10, 7, 12.

Female microptera. Similar to macroptera; fore wing lobe shorter than width of mesonotum.

Male microptera. Similar to female; tergite IX with one pair of short stout setae medially and paired large dark drepanae posterolaterally that curve dorso-medially ( Fig. 47 ); sternites III–VII with broad C-shaped pore plate ( Fig. 46 ).

Specimens examined. Holotype female macroptera. Australian Capital Territory, Black Mtn, CSIRO Entomology , from native? Poa , 23.xi.2001 ( LAM).

Paratypes: 2 female micropterae taken with holotype. New South Wales, Cabbage Tree Creek , near Nelligen , 2 male micropterae from grasses, 13.i.1999; Lake Chichester Dam , 1 female macroptera from grass, 23.xii.2000. Victoria, Genoa , 1 female microptera from native Poa , 30.xii.2004. Queensland, Brisbane , from native Poa, Mt Cootha , 1 female microptera, 20.v.2004; 1 male microptera, 16.i.2006.

Comments. This grass-living species is apparently widespread in eastern Australia. It has a distinctive posterior margin on tergite VIII, with the bases of the slender microtrichia fused to form a small continuous craspedum ( Fig. 51 ), and the sculpture laterally on the abdomen is strongly dentate. The males are remarkable for the pair of strong, incurved, drepanae on the ninth tergite ( Fig. 47 ). The two male paratypes from near Nelligen have the anterior tergites far more robustly sculptured than in females, but the paratype male from Brisbane has weaker tergal sculpture .

Figures

FIGURES 44–52. Anaphothrips of Australia. A. cecili 44–45: (44) head & pronotum; (45) tergites VI–VIII. A. chortinus 46–51: (46) male sternites; (47) male tergite IX; (48) meso & metanotum; (49) head; (50) antenna; (51) tergites VII–VIII. (52) A. cobari meso & metanotum.