Teuchothrips toowoomba, Mound & Dang & Tree, 2023

Mound, Laurence A., Dang, Lihong & Tree, Desley J., 2023, Structural diversity among the leaf-feeding thrips of Australia in the genus Teuchothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae) with 20 new species, Zootaxa 5383 (4), pp. 441-475 : 473-474

Teuchothrips toowoomba sp.n.

( Figs 113–115 )

Female macroptera. Body and legs dark brown, fore tarsi and much of fore tibiae yellow; antennal segments I and VII–VIII brown, III almost clear yellow, IV–VI increasingly shaded at apex; major setae pale; fore wings pale, scarcely shaded near base. Head longer than wide, narrowing to base, genae rugose; vertex weakly reticulate but with strong transverse band of reticulation at posterior; postocular setae small, distant from eyes; maxillary stylets retracted only half-way to postocular setae; mouth cone not elongate ( Fig. 113 ). Antennal segment III slender, almost 2.5 times as long as apical width; IV with 3 major sense cones, VIII small and close to slender VII. Pronotum relatively elongate, with many small setae laterally, only epimeral setae large ( Fig. 114 ). Fore legs stout with tarsal tooth almost as long as width of tarsus. Fore wing with about 30 duplicated cilia, sub-basal setae S1 slightly shorter than S2, expanded at apex, S3 small, acute at apex. Mesonotum reticulate, lateral setal pair similar to fore wing sub-basal seta S1. Metanotum reticulate, major setal pair slender ( Fig. 115 ). Mesopresternum divided into 2 triangles, metathoracic sternopleural sutures long. Pelta broadly triangular, apex truncate; all tergal lateral setae much shorter than length of their tergite; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 shorter than basal width of tube; tube about 5 times as long as basal width, lateral margins without obvious setae.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 4600. Head, length 360; maximum width 250. Pronotum, length 350; width 440; epimeral setae 70. Fore wing, length 1700; sub-basal setae S1 40, S2 50, S3 35. Tergite VIII posterolateral setae 60; tergite IX setae S1 80, S2 90; tube, length 750, basal width 160; anal setae, length 180. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width): 75 (45), 65 (40), 110 (40), 85 (40), 85 (35), 80 (25), 70 (25), 15 (15).

Specimens studied. Holotype female, Queensland, Toowoomba, Redwood Park , from barkspray of trees and logs, 18.xi.2011 (G. Monteith), in ANIC.

Paratypes: taken with holotype, 1 female in ANIC , 2 females in QDPC .

Comments. The type specimens of this species were taken in the same barkspray sample as the type specimens of jarowair sp.n. and included no host plant identification. The species is remarkable within the genus Teuchothrips for the elongate tube, abdominal segment X, that is almost five times as long as the basal width. However, the other character states, including the divided mesopresternum and the elongate metathoracic sternopleural sutures, exclude it from other genera in the Liothrips -lineage.

Figures

FIGURES 107–115. Teuchothrips of Australia. T. tolga 107–112: (107) head & pronotum; (108) antenna; (109) prosternites; (110) tergites IX–X; (111) pelta of female; (112) pelta of male. T. toowoomba 113–115: (113) head; (114) pronotum; (115) metanotum and pelta.