Oxythrips Uzel

Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2011, New records and four new species of Australian Thripidae (Thysanoptera) emphasise faunal relationships between northern Australia and Asia, Zootaxa 2764, pp. 35-48 : 35-36

Oxythrips Uzel

Oxythrips Uzel, 1895: 133 . Type-species Oxythrips ajugae Uzel

This genus currently comprises a series of 49 species ( Mound 2011), each of which is unusual in having a single pair of major posteroangular setae on the pronotum. Of the included species, 12 are based on fossils, and all but two of the remainder are known only from the northern hemisphere. The two exceptions are O. skottsbergi (Ahlberg) from Chile, a species known only from the original inadequate description, and O. agathidis Morison from Queensland, Australia. The new species described below differs from most species placed in Oxythrips in having on tergum VIII a distinctive ctenidium-like structure antero-lateral to each spiracle ( Fig. 4 ), and a long and regular posteromarginal comb of microtrichia, the posterior margin of this tergum usually lacking such microtrichia. O. agathidis is an exception in that it also has a well-developed regular comb on the eighth tergum. The new species is also unusual in that the metanotal median setae are long, arise at the anterior margin of this sclerite, and are far apart and close to the smaller lateral pair, whereas Oxythrips species, including O. agathidis , have the metanotal median setae small and placed well back from the anterior margin of this sclerite. The first vein of the forewing of the new species has a more extensive setal row than in most Oxythrips species, and the male has only one pair of stout setae medially on tergite IX.

Several species of the genus Oxythrips are associated with the plant genus Pinus , as are the species of the related genus Chilothrips . These two thrips genera appear to be strictly Holarctic, and are known only from the northern hemisphere, including India, China and Japan. Neither of the two Australian species placed in Oxythrips seem closely related to any of the northern hemisphere members of the genus, and these two are probably not closely related to each other. Despite this, standard identification keys will place both species as Oxythrips , because of the presence of a single pair of pronotal posteroangular setae. Until the thrips fauna of northern Australia and the island of New Guinea is better explored it seems best to leave these two species in Oxythrips , rather than to erect two new monobasic genera of doubtful affinities.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Oxythrips australopalmae. (1) Female; (2) Antenna; (3) Head; (4) Terga VII – VIII posterior margin lateral view; (5) Terga VII – X; (6) Male head & thorax; (7) Wing.