Anaphothrips Uzel, 1895

Mound, Laurence A. & Masumoto, Masami, 2009, Australian Thripinae of the Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera), with three new genera and thirty-three new species, Zootaxa 2042 (1), pp. 1-76 : 11-12

Anaphothrips Uzel

Anaphothrips Uzel, 1895: 142 . Type species Thrips obscura Müller, designated by Hood, 1914: 136.

Neophysopus Schmutz, 1913: 1016 . Type species N. medioflavus Schmutz (= Anaphothrips sudanensis Trybom ), by original designation and monotypy. [Synonymized by Bhatti, 1978: 87.]

Nakaharathrips Retana-Salazar, 2007: 329 . Type species: Anaphothrips sudanensis Trybom. [Synonymized by Goldarazena et al., 2008: 966.]

Diagnosis. Apterous, micropterous or macropterous; antennae 8- or 9-segmented, sensorium on III forked (simple in some species), on IV forked; III–VI usually with microtrichia present, often annulate; segment I without dorso-apical setae. Head often slightly projecting in front of eyes; 3 pairs of ocellar setae present; 3 or 4 pairs of postocular setae; eyes large, with or without 6 pigmented facets; maxillary palps 3-segmented, mouth cone relatively long, often slender and pointed at apex. Pronotum with no long setae (one species with posteromarginal S2 longer than remaining setae); ferna usually entire; basantra without setae. Mesonotal CPS usually present but often small and inconspicuous. Metascutum with reticulate sculpture. Metapre-episternum usually weakly developed. Mesothoracic sternopleural sutures complete, furca with spinula; metathoracic furca without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Fore wing with setae short, first vein with setal row irregularly spaced, second vein with many setae irregularly spaced; marginal cilia wavy; clavus with 4–9 marginal but no discal setae. Abdominal tergites and sternites without posteromarginal craspeda; tergites without lateral ctenidia, with median setae rarely close together, campaniform sensilla far from posterior margin; VI–VII usually with setae S3 reduced and much smaller than S4; setae on posterior tergites not elongate; tergite IX with two pairs of campaniform sensilla, MD setae short and arising laterally; tergite X with dorsal split in distal half; sternites without discal setae; sternites III–VII with 3 pairs of marginal setae, median pair on VII ahead of posterior margin. Males (where known) with pore plates on sternite III or III–VII behind antecostal line, often large and C-shaped, but sometimes small, not C-shaped, or absent; tergite IX with or without dorsal paired thorn-like setae.

Structural variation and phylogenetic relationships. The structural variation among the various species in this genus is confusing, particularly the occurrence of species with 8-segmented and 9-segmented antennae in the same genus. However, this difference is not clear-cut, because several species exhibit an intermediate condition with a partial suture across the sixth antennal segment that is also variable in its development. On first analysis, the species with this partial division seem to be particularly closely related to the species with 8- segmented antennae, and most of them are associated with Poaceae . However, although the species with nine fully discrete segments also seem to form a discrete group, there are several species in the arid zone of Australia in which the suture between segments VI and VII is oblique and weak ( Fig. 171 ).

Males are not known for eight of the 43 Australian species (Table 2), but in 20 species the males have Cshaped sternal pore plates. These species include three grass-living species with 8-segmented antennae, although most of the other species in which males have C-shaped pore plates have 9-segmented antennae and live on a variety of different Australian plants. The North American fauna of this genus shows a similar pattern, males with large C-shaped pore plates occurring in different species, some with eight but others with nine antennal segments ( Nakahara, 1995). It is here considered that the structure of these pore plates is more likely to reflect phylogenetic relationships than the mere subdivision (or partial subdivision) of the sixth antennal segment. In addition to the 20 species, a further three have males with pore plates that are small to weakly curved, a situation that also occurs among North American species. These smaller pore plates are here interpreted as being reduced from the boldly C-shaped form. Four species appear to be divergent, having pore plates only on the third sternite; in one species this is situated medially on the sternite, in two it is slender and transverse and close to the antecostal ridge, whereas in the fourth it comprises an anterolateral pair of small discs. Finally, seven species have males with no sternal pore plates.

Some of the other character states that have previously been used in the classification of the Anaphothrips genus-group are equally confusing when applied to the fauna considered here. For example, the variation recorded here in the chaetotaxy of tergite IX in males, including the presence of drepanae, is particularly surprising. Similarly, although none of the Australian species has setae on the prosternal basantra, the prosternal ferna vary in the extent to which they are fused medially, and in two species these sclerites are well separated. The presence of one or more setae on the basal stem of the fore wing second vein is a further unusual feature among some Australian Anaphothrips species. Use of such character states to distinguish a series of small or monobasic genera would certainly be possible, but such a classification seems unlikely to help our understanding of the complex radiation within this presumably Australian lineage.

Figures

FIGURES 166–171. Anaphothrips of Australia. A. woodi 166–167: (166) head; (167) tergites VII–VIII right margins. A. yalgooi 168–171: (168) head; (169) pronotum; (170) tergites V–VI; (171) antenna.