Ceratothripoides revelatus (Priesner)

Mound, Laurence A. & Nickle, David A., 2009, The Old-World genus Ceratothripoides (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) with a new genus for related New-World species, Zootaxa 2230, pp. 57-63 : 60-62

Ceratothripoides revelatus (Priesner) stat. rev.

Taeniothrips revelatus Priesner, 1937: 169 Although the original description of revelatus mentions an “allotype”, neither holotype nor type locality was specified. Priesner based the species, in part, on specimens identified by Karny (1925) as T. ventralis , from Kampala, Uganda, but listed further specimens from Njala, Sierre Leone, and Rutshuru, Belgian Congo. There is a long series of syntypes of revelatus in BMNH from Kampala, Uganda, 15.i.1921, bearing Karny’s handwriting and identification as ventralis . Moreover, one female “ paratype ” of ventralis in BMNH actually represents revelatus and has the following data: S. Nigeria, Ibadan, Melia azederach fls, 14.i.1915 (Jobbins- Pomeroy). In this collection there is also one female and one male of revelatus , labeled: Ibadan, Moor Plantation, 11.v.1964, in lemon flowers.

Although long considered a synonym of brunneus , this species can be distinguished by means of the indicated character states. In addition to the material listed above, the following specimens in the BMNH collections are here identified as revelatus : Ghana, Tafo, iv–v.1971, 14 females, 4 males (labelled brunneus ) from cocoa flowers; Sao Tome, 15.vii.1974, 5 females 1 male from cocoa flowers; Kenya, Nairobi National Museum, 6.ix.1986, 25 females, 6 males from Whitefieldia elongata flowers. The males in the series from Nairobi are unusual in that they are almost yellow rather than brown in colour.

The countries from which this species is now recorded are: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, San Tome, Angola, Congo, Mozambique, Kenya and Uganda.