Odontothrips yunnanensis, Xie, Yonghui, Zhang, Hongrui & Mound, Laurence A., 2010

Xie, Yonghui, Zhang, Hongrui & Mound, Laurence A., 2010, A new species from southwestern China of the holarctic genus Odontothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), Zootaxa 2729, pp. 53-57 : 55

Odontothrips yunnanensis sp. n.

( Figs 1, 8–13 )

Female macroptera. Body dark brown ( Fig. 9 ); all tarsi yellow, also fore tibia, apex of fore femur, and antennal segment III; fore wing including clavus brown, with basal quarter pale ( Fig. 13 ). With the character states indicated above; antennal segment VI with base of sensorium more than 0.7 as long as total length of this sensorium ( Fig. 1 ). Head with ocellar setae pair III arising on anterior margins of ocellar triangle, postocular setae small ( Fig. 11 ). Fore tibia without claw-like processes at apex; fore tarsus without tubercles on inner margin. Metanotum with campaniform sensilla arising medially ( Fig. 12 ). Fore wing first vein with setal row comprising about 4 setae at base, then 11–12 setae, then 4–5 setae near apex; second vein with complete row of setae ( Fig. 13 ); clavus with 5 marginal and one discal setae, terminal seta longer than subapical. Abdominal tergum I with transversely reticulate sculpture; terga IV–VIII with no sculpture mesad of setal pair S2; IX with two pairs of campaniform sensilla; median split on X short; pleuroterga and sterna without discal setae; sternum VII setal pair S1 arise in front of margin, S2 and S3 arise at margin.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1690. Head, length 160; width across eyes 165. Ocellar setae III length 58. Pronotum, length 170, maximum width 220; posteroangular setae length 66, 70. Metanotum median setae length 68. Fore wing, length 900. Abdominal tergum IV median setae length 13; tergum X setae length 110. Antennal segments III–VIII length 63, 64, 42, 60, 17, 18; sensorium on antennal VI length 36, length of base 25.

Male macroptera. Body smaller and more slender than female ( Fig. 10 ); colour similar to female but antennal segment II yellow, and all tibiae and apices of femora sometimes yellow; sternal posterior margins without median lobe; tergum IX posterior margin with pair of stout sigmoid processes, basal half straight but then curving sharply dorsally, and then curving to posterior and terminating in a blunt point ( Fig. 8 ).

Measurements (paratype male in microns). Body length 1280. Fore wing, length 685. Antennal segments III–VIII length 48, 49, 32, 46, 13, 14; sensorium on antennal VI length 28, length of base 19.

Specimens examined. Holotype female, CHINA, Yunnan Province, Yanjin County, (28° 06' N, 104° 14' E), from Phaseolus vulgaris flowers at 639 m, 23.vi.2010, (Xie Yong-Hui), in Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming.

Paratypes: 29 females, 14 males, collected with holotype; paratypes deposited in Academy of Sciences, Beijing; South China Agricultural University, Guangdong; Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra.

Comments. At species level this new species is readily distinguished, by the long base of the sensorium on the sixth antennal segment, the lack of fore tibial tubercles, the presence of several setae on the distal half of the first vein of the fore wing, and the armature on tergum IX of males. However, its systematic position is more equivocal, being intermediate between the three major genera of the Megalurothrips genus-group. The complete absence of tibial and tarsal tubercles suggests a relationship with Megalurothrips . However, the enlarged sensorium on antennal segment VI (but not on V) suggests a relationship to Odontothrips , but the very large processes on the posterior margin of tergum IX in males seem more similar to the structures found in this position in some species of Odontothripiella . Despite the fact that males in many species of these three genera have either processes or prominent setae on the posterior margin of tergum IX, the homologies of these processes remain unclear. For example, Megalurothrips sjostedti has a pair of spine-like processes ( Fig. 7 ) that are homologous with but considerably larger than those of the type species, M. typicus , whereas M. usitatus has no such processes ( Fig. 6 ). In contrast, some but not all Odontothrips species have a pair of small, stout setae on short tubercles, and some Odontothripiella have similar setae that are often on much longer processes ( Figs 4, 5 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Odontothrips and related genera. (1) O. yunannensis antenna. (2) Megalurothrips typicus antennal segments IV – VIII. (3) Odontothripiella australis antennal segments IV – VIII. Male tergum IX 4 – 8: (4) O. australis; (5) Odontothripiella buloba; (6) M. usitatus; (7) M. sjostedti; (8) O. yunannensis.

FIGURES 9 – 13. Odontothrips yunannensis. (9) Female. (10) Male. (11) Head and pronotum. (12) Mesonotum and metanotum. (13) Fore wing.