Lissothrips tallagandai, Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2015

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2015, Species of Lissothrips and Williamsiella from mosses and lichens in Australia and New Zealand (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae), Zootaxa 3946 (3), pp. 361-373 : 368

Lissothrips gersoni Mound & Walker, 1986: 68

( Fig. 11 )

Described from both North and South Islands, New Zealand, this species was reared on a species of moss in the genus Thuidium ( Mound & Walker 1986) . It was subsequently recorded from Australia, New South Wales ( Mound & Houston 1987), but the specimens on which that record was based are here identified as tallagandai sp.n. However, as indicated below, one male here identified as gersoni was collected recently in southern Queensland, and this is currently the only specimen known from Australia that is identifiable as this species. These two species are similar in many details of their structure, but tallagandai has the mesonotal lateral setae elongate, in contrast to the other species considered here, and the male has a small circular pore plate on the eighth sternite. Males of gersoni lack a pore plate on sternite VIII, and in both sexes the pronotal am setae are shorter than those of related species. Females of gersoni have these setae about 30 to 35 microns long ( Fig. 11 ), but the males only 20 microns long, whereas in both sexes of tallagandai and thomsonae these setae are 40 microns or more in length. All three of these species have the anterior margin of the mesoeusternum eroded medially and concave.

Material studied. New Zealand, various sites, 2 female, 3 male paratypes (including one female with same data as holotype). Australia, Queensland, Lamington, O’Reilly’s, 1 male from dead twigs, 9.x.2006.

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 15. Lissothrips species from Australia—head and pronotum. (8) corticosus; (9) discus; (10) hypni; (11) gersoni; (12) taverneri; (13) tallagandai; (14) discus; (15) thomsonae.