Ambaeolothrips, Mound, Laurence, Cavalleri, Adriano, O’Donnell, Cheryle, Infante, Francisco, Ortiz, Antonio & Goldarazena, Arturo, 2016

Mound, Laurence, Cavalleri, Adriano, O’Donnell, Cheryle, Infante, Francisco, Ortiz, Antonio & Goldarazena, Arturo, 2016, Ambaeolothrips: a new genus of Neotropical Aeolothripidae (Thysanoptera), with observations on the type-species from mango trees in Mexico, Zootaxa 4132 (3), pp. 413-421 : 415

Ambaeolothrips gen. n.

Diagnosis. Body colour either dark brown or abdomen bicoloured; fore wing with transverse and/or longitudinal dark bands. Antennae 9-segmented, V–IX form a unit that is little longer than IV ( Figs 6–8 ), sensoria on III–IV broadly linear and 0.5 or more as long as their segment, on IV curving around apex. Head with numerous setae arranged in a pair of irregular transverse rows behind eyes; eyes prolonged ventrally; maxillary palp segment II not subdivided but with weak constrictions indicated by transverse rows of microtrichia. Fore tarsus with typical aeolothripid curved claw ventrally. Pronotum with no long setae, surface without sculpture lines. Meso and metanota very closely striate, with minute markings between striae ( Figs 21–23 ). Tergite I with transverse reticulation ( Fig. 21 ), remaining tergites with very faint narrow transverse reticulate lines; X with trichobothria no larger than bases of major setae. Sternite II often with only one pair of marginal setae, III with 3 or 4 pairs, V–VI with 4 pairs, VII with 4 pairs and 2 pairs of accessory setae submedially close to the margin ( Fig. 24 ); II–VII with no discal setae, and no setae near antecostal ridge. Male (where known) tergite I with paired longitudinal ridges, tergites without tubercles, IX without claspers or stout setae.

Type species: Aeolothrips romanruizi Ruiz-De la Cruz et al.

Relationships. In the key to New World genera of Aeolothripidae ( Mound & Marullo 1996) this new genus will run to Aeolothrips . The three species are similar to members of that genus in lacking sternal discal setae, and in the form of the maxillary palps and antennal segments, but differ in the closely striate sculpture of the meso and metanotum, with striae arched around the anterior margin on the metanotum. This form of curved linear sculpture on the metanotum is shared only with species in the three genera Aduncothrips ( Fig. 10 ), Lamprothrips ( Fig. 12 ) and Streothrips . The single species placed in Lamprothrips , from Australia, does not have the mesonotum closely striate ( Fig. 12 ), in contrast to the species in the other two genera ( Fig. 10 ). Moreover the sternites in Lamprothrips have exceptionally short marginal setae, there are a few discal setae laterally on sternites V–VII, and antennal segment VI is more than half as long as segment V. Aduncothrips comprises a single described species, from Asia, and this has the pronotum smooth as in Ambaeolothrips species, but on sternites III–VII there are two or more pairs of discal setae arising on or close to the antecostal ridge, and the maxillary palps have multiple segments. Moreover, the cephalic setae are unusually weak and small, scarcely longer than the distance between two sculpture lines, and the sensoria on antennal segments III and IV are long and slender with internal markings, on IV curving fully around the apex but also extending almost to the base of this segment. The three Asian species that comprise the genus Streothrips share with the species of Ambaeolothrips the absence of any sternal discal setae, and the presence of undivided maxillary palps, but they have the pronotum as closely striate as the meso and metanotum, and antennal segment VI is slightly longer than wide (Ng & Eow 2012). Two further genera have species in which the metanotal sculpture approaches that of Ambaeolothrips . In some Erythrothrips species the metanotal sculpture forms a series of curving rows of reticles ( Fig. 11 ), although durango from Mexico has the metanotum more evenly reticulate as in typical Aeolothrips species. The species of Erythrothrips differ from members of the new genus in having numerous sternal discal setae, and the maxillary palps with multiple small segments. The other genus in South America with the metanotal reticulation forming curving bands is Gelothrips ( Fig. 13 ), but in contrast to the new genus antennal segments VI and VII are distinct from each other with each almost as long as segment V, and the sternites bear discal setae laterally. At present, the species of Ambaeolothrips appear to share most character states with species in two genera. The first is Aeolothrips , particularly species sculptured like nitidus ( Fig. 14 ), the second is the Asian genus Streothrips .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 14. Aeolothripidae species. Terminal antennal segments 1 – 8: (1) Aeolothrips nitidus; (2) Ae. fasciatus; (3) Ae. bicolor; (4) Ae. nasturtii; (5) Desmothrips australis; (6) Ambaeolothrips microstriatus segments I – IX; (7) Am. pampeanus segments III – IX; (8) Am. romanruizi segments IV – IX. Meso and metanota 9 – 14: (9) Stomatothrips septenarius; (10) Aduncothrips? asiaticus; (11) Erythrothrips arizonae; (12) Lamprothrips miltoni; (13) Gelothrips cinctus; (14) Aeolothrips nitidus.

FIGURES 21 – 24. Ambaeolothrips. Meso and metanotum 21 – 23: (21) romanruizi; (22) microstriatus; (23) pampeanus. (24) romanruizi female sternite VII (left side), marginal setae 1 – 4; paired accessory setae (acc. s.)