Fernothrips femoralis, Okajima & Masumoto, 2023

Okajima, Shûji & Masumoto, Masami, 2023, Six genera of the subtribe Macrothripina from Southeast Asia to Taiwan (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae, Idolothripinae), Zootaxa 5291 (1), pp. 1-74 : 64-66

Fernothrips femoralis sp. n.

( Figs 190–195 , 244 )

Female (macroptera). Distended body length: 5.4mm. Colour uniformly dark brown. Antennal segment III with extreme base yellowish. All tarsi brown. Fore wings weakly shaded with brown, with a longitudinal brown streak on basal 3/5. Prominent setae almost clear, yellowish. Head ( Fig. 190 ) elongate, 1.96 times as long as broad, broadest across eyes; dorsal surface sculptured with indistinct transverse row of striae, but weakly sculptured with reticulation posteriorly. Cheeks gradually, but distinctly, constricted behind eyes, then swollen at basal 1/3 before sub-basal constriction; each with some small and stout setae, postocular cheek setae 40–50μm. Postocular setae situated behind inner margins of eyes, 140μm apart, much longer than eyes, about 0.4 times as long as head, nearly pointed; ocellar setae minute, postocellar setae situated behind eyes, wider apart from each other, 125μm apart. Eyes bulged, 0.24 times as long as head, 145μm apart from each other; posterior ocelli close to eyes, 32–37μm in diameter, 80μm apart from each other, 42–45μm apart from anterior one. Antennae ( Fig. 191 ) about 1.6 times as long as head; segment VIII slender, not strongly constricted basally; segment III 2.8 times as long as broad, a little shorter than segment IV; sense-cones short and curved. Prothorax ( Fig. 190 ) stout; pronotum much longer than half the length of head, 0.68 times as long as head, 1.17 times as broad as long, sculptured with fine reticulation anteriorly and laterally; prominent setae comparatively short, am and ml setae shorter than 40μm. Ferna ( Fig. 195 ) about 1.2 times as long as broad. Mesopresternum narrow, but invisible in holotype. Metanotum ( Fig. 194 ) without CPS. Fore wings each with 54–57 duplicated cilia; sub-basal wing setae S1 and S2 minute, S3 elongate. Pelta ( Fig. 194 ) 2.5 times as broad as long, with a pair of CPS. Posteromarginal setae on abdominal tergite IX shorter than tube. Tube ( Fig. 193 ) weakly convex, distinctly constricted distally, about 1.1 times as long as head, about 4.0 times as long as broad .

Measurements (holotype female in μm). Body length about 5400 (distended). Head length 620, from anterior margin of eyes 585, width across eyes 317, maximum width across cheeks 282, minimum width across cheeks 260, across sub-basal constriction 255; eyes length 150, width 85; postocular setae 250. Antenna total length 1000, segments I–VIII length (width) as follows: 125 (70), 110 (60), 170 (60), 188 (61), 175 (52), 145 (43), 90 (34), 65 (18). Pronotum length 420, width 492. Ferna length about 120, width 100. Setae on prothorax: am less than 20, aa about 50, ml less than 30, pa 100, epim?100. Fore wing length?. Sub-basal wing setae S1 and S2 shorter than 30, S3 180–185. Pelta length 180, width 450. Setae on tergite IX: S1?650, S2?600. Tube length 680, basal width 170, apical width 70; terminal setae?.

Type series. Holotype: macropterous female, Borneo, Sabah, 10.5mls from Keningau , 17.iii.1992, S. Itoh.

Remarks. The wings and some prominent setae of the unique holotype female of F. femoralis are somewhat damaged by maceration. Furthermore, the right antennal segment III has an inner small sense-cone in addition to two usual ones, and the left antennal segment IV has an outer small sense-cone in addition to four usual ones. There is a possibility that these character states are normal, and the left antennal segment III and right antennal segment IV are missing artificially these small sense-cones.

Figures

FIGURES 190–195. Fernothrips femoralis gen. et sp. n., female. (190) Head & prothorax; (191) antennal segments III–VIII; (192) fore leg; (193) tube; (194) metanotum & pelta; (195) prosternum.

FIGURES 235–246. Macrothripina genera and species. Ethirothrips species 235–243: (235) E. stenomelas, male; (236) E. (?) stenomelas, female from Mindanao; (237) E. tenuis sp. n., female; (238) E. terminalis sp. n., female; (239) E. thai sp. n., female; (240) E. tibialis, female; (241) E. tibialis, micropterous male; (242) E. tibialis, macropterous male; (243) E. virgulae, female. (244) Fernothrips femoralis gen. et sp. n., female. (245) Ischyrothrips crassus, female. (246) Polytrichothrips malayanus sp. n., female.