Anaphothrips cobari, Mound & Masumoto, 2009

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 : 27

Anaphothrips cobari sp. n.

( Figs 52 –55)

Female macroptera. Body, legs and antennae pale brown, hind tibiae paler, antennal segment I white; fore wing weakly shaded in basal half; tergite IX major setae brown. Head wider than long; transverse sculpture lines behind eyes, ocellar triangle without sculpture; eyes with 6 pigmented facets; ocellar setae III outside triangle. Antennae 9-segmented, III–IV with forked sensorium; II with a few short microtrichia near apex; VI not pedicellate, suture oblique between VI–VII (Fig. 55). Pronotum with faint transverse lines, posteromarginal setae S1 slightly larger than remaining setae; prosternal ferna weakly divided. Metascutum irregularly reticulate, reticles sometimes elongate ( Fig. 52 ); median setae not close to anterior margin, MCS absent. Fore wing first vein with about 9 setae near base, 2 setae medially, 2 setae distally; second vein with about 12 setae; clavus with 6–7 veinal setae plus one seta at base. Abdominal tergites II–VII with no sculpture medially; laterally with about 8 transverse lines with few or no microtrichia, not extending mesad of setae S2 (Fig. 54); VIII with long regular posteromarginal comb.

Measurements (holotype, in microns). Body length 1450. Head, length 85; width across eyes 150. Pronotum, length 100; maximum width 185. Fore wing, length 800; median width 70; first vein longest seta in basal row 25. Tergite IV S1 setae 12. Tergite IX, MD setae 12; PM S1 setae 80. Tergite X PM S1 setae 70. Antennal segments III–IX, 42, 35, 45, 38, 7, 7, 12.

Male macroptera. Similar to female; tergite IX with median setae not short and stout; sternite III with one weakly transverse pore plate medially (Fig. 53).

Specimens examined. Holotype female macroptera. New South Wales, 5 km east of Cobar , from Myoporum bush, 31.v.2003 ( LAM 4314 ).

Paratypes: 8 females 1 male taken with holotype; 1 female same locality and date, from Dodonaea . South Australia, 20km east of Meningie , 1 female 1 male from Lycium ferossissimum , 9.ii.2003.

Non-paratypic specimens: New South Wales, Broken Hill, 15 females from Eremophila serrulata leaves 3.vi.2003; Western Australia, 180km south of Carnarvon, 15 females 1 male from Eremophila leaves, 25.iv.1997; 25km south of Newman, 3 females from Eremophila leaves, 21.iv.1997; South Australia, Kangaroo Island, 10 females from Suaeda australis leaves ( Chenopodiaceae ), 3.x.2007.

Comments. This is probably a widespread species across the arid areas of Australia in association with the leaves of the common shrubs Eremophila and Myoporum . The species is unusual within this group in the absence or weakness of microtrichia on the tergal sculpture lines. The metascutal sculpture is variable within the type series, and is sometimes more linear than is usual in this genus ( Fig. 52 ). The distal segmentation of the antennae is irregular (Fig. 55), and the presence of just one small weakly transverse pore plate medially on the third sternite in males (Fig. 53) is currently unique in this genus. The specimens from Western Australia are smaller with the fore wing setae shorter than the specimens from New South Wales. The other nonparatypic specimens listed cannot be identified with certainty in the absence of males.

Figures

FIGURES 44–52. Anaphothrips of Australia. A. cecili 44–45: (44) head & pronotum; (45) tergites VI–VIII. A. chortinus 46–51: (46) male sternites; (47) male tergite IX; (48) meso & metanotum; (49) head; (50) antenna; (51) tergites VII–VIII. (52) A. cobari meso & metanotum.