Holopothrips magnus, Lindner & Ferrari & Mound & Cavalleri, 2018

Lindner, Mariana F., Ferrari, Augusto, Mound, Laurence A. & Cavalleri, Adriano, 2018, Holopothrips diversity-a Neotropical genus of gall-inducing insects (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), Zootaxa 4494 (1), pp. 1-99 : 61-63

Holopothrips magnus sp. n.

( Figs 168–175 )

Diagnostic features. Body (except antenna) uniformly brown; maxillary stylets V-shaped; most major pronotal setae rather short, only the two pairs of epimeral setae elongate; basantra present; metanotal sculpture with thin elongate reticles, looking almost striate, with internal markings; pelta with thin reticles filled with internal markings medially; male with one single median pore plate on sternite VIII; female spermatheca not enlarged.

Macropterous female: Body ( Fig. 168 ) uniformly light brown, with fore tibia lighter and all tarsi yellow, tergite X dark brown but lighter on extreme base and apex. Antennal segments I–II concolourous with head, III–V yellow, VI yellow weakly shaded with light brown on apical half, VII yellow on basal half and light brown on apical half, VIII light brown. Fore wings pale, without median dark line; major body setae brownish yellow.

Head ( Fig. 169 ) about 1.3 times as long as width behind eyes, dorsal surface with transverse lines of sculpture enclosing elongate reticles, cheeks straight. Eyes large, dorsal length about 0.4 of head length; po with blunt apex, slightly longer than the diameter of an ocellus. Maxillary stylets V-shaped, reaching halfway to posterior margin of eyes and more than half of head width apart. Mouth cone somewhat round, with a small pointed tip, reaching the posterior margin of basantra. Antennal segment III with 3 sense cones and IV with 3 sense cones + 1 additional small sense cone.

Pronotum ( Fig. 169 ) trapezoidal, with weak transverse striation near posterior margin, smooth medially; epimeral sutures incomplete and short. Six major pairs of pronotal setae, two pairs on epimeral region; am and pa reduced and with acute tips, aa and ml short, ep well-developed, all with blunt tips. Basantra ( Fig. 173 ) present and well-defined, slightly wider than long or subequal; prosternal ferna well-developed, not touching medially, anterior margins weakly produced. Mesonotum ( Fig. 170 ) with irregular reticles, sometimes lateral limits of reticles fainter; internal markings on sculpture absent. Metanotum ( Fig. 171 ) with short longitudinal lines forming a striate pattern, sometimes enclosing elongate irregular reticles medially, internal markings on sculpture present; one pair of anterior discal setae and one pair of median major setae present. Fore tarsal hamus not enlarged. Fore wings with 12 to 20 duplicated cilia.

Pelta ( Fig. 172 ) triangular to arcuate, anterior margin straight, with lateral wings; paired campaniform sensilla present. Sculpture covering the whole pelta but weaker or absent laterally; thin longitudinally elongated reticles medially with internal markings, weak irregular reticles laterally. Tergite II with short transverse lines, looking almost striate; sculpture less defined on further tergites. Tergites II–VII with three pairs of wing retaining setae. Tergite IX setae S1, S2 and S3 with finely acute apexes. Tube about 0.9 of head length and about 2.4 times as long as greatest width near base, apical width about 0.45 of basal width. Spermatheca ( Fig. 174 ) curled but not thickened or swollen medially.

Measurements (female holotype in microns): Length about 2982; head length 282, width behind eyes 220, po length 42, eye dorsal length 117; median length of pronotum 165, width across ep 330, am 9, aa 22, ml 32, ep 87, pa 15; width of mesonotum 362; fore wing length 850 (approximate); tergite IX setae S1 225, S2 247, S3 225; tergite X length 262, basal width 111, apical width 50; length(width) of antennal segments III–VIII 82 (35), 72(35), 70(35), 65(27), 60(22), 32(12), respectively.

Macropterous male: Similar to female in both colouration and structure, but smaller. Pore plate ( Fig. 175 ) with punctuate texture on sternite VIII, a thin median band posterior to discal setae.

Measurements (male paratype in microns): Length about 2449; head length 247, width behind eyes 192, po length 67, eye dorsal length 100; median length of pronotum 135, width across ep 270, am 5, aa 20, ml 30, ep 82, pa 5; width of mesonotum 302; fore wing length 900 (approximate); tergite IX setae S1 182, S2 212, S3 212; tergite X length 217, basal width 92, apical width 42; length(width) of antennal segments III–VIII 72 (32), 62(32), 62(30), 55(25), 55(22), 30(12), respectively.

Material studied. Holotype female, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Cabo Frio , in Smilax rufescens gall, 30.xi.2011 (Carvalho-Fernandes, S.P.), at UFRGS. Slide code UFRGS 4824 .

Paratype: 1 male collected with holotype, at UFRGS. Slide code UFRGS 4825 .

Etymology. Species named after its large and robust body.

Comments. This species has some uncommon traits within the genus, such as the pronotal setae having blunt apexes and being rather small, with pa being almost as small as the minute am ( Fig. 169 ); and presence of clearly defined basantra ( Fig. 173 ). Holopothrips magnus shares some similarities with H. atlanticus and H. omercooperi , but is easily distinguished by having a much lighter body colour, shorter pronotal setae, and male with a single median pore plate on sternite VIII ( Fig. 175 ), similar to the pore plate seen in H. conducans .

Figures

FIGURES 168–175. Holopothrips magnus sp. nov. holotype and paratype. (168) body; (169) head and pronotum; (170) mesonotum; (171) metanotum; (172) pelta; (173) prosternum, showing basantra (white arrows); (174) spermatheca; (175) pore plate on abdominal sternite VIII.