Peripsocus morulops (Tillyard)

Schmidt, Evan R. & New, Timothy R., 2008, The Psocoptera (Insecta) of Tasmania, Australia, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 65, pp. 71-152 : 118-120

Peripsocus morulops (Tillyard)

Figures 157–63

Peripsocopsis morulops Tillyard, 1923: 194 .

Peripsocus morulops . --- Roesler, 1944: 154.

Peripsocus morulops . --- New, 1973a: 345.

! Peripsocus morulops . --- Cole et al., 1989: 33.

Peripsocus sp. D . Cole et al., 1989: 33.

Smithers (1994b) previously described the female from New South Wales material. The description here of a Tasmanian female, with figures, is provided for comparison with females of P. cochleus above.

Material examined. Specimen on which description is based: Tasmania, 1, Dodonaea viscosa , South Arm Recreation Area , 8 July 1987. Additional records: many individuals collected from January to September .

Description of female. Coloration (after ca 6 years in alcohol). Ground colour of head buff, light brown on top of vertex with the following dark brown: confluent markings dorsal to eyes, along back of vertex and each side of blackish median epicranial suture; postclypeal striae, converging towards pale midline; posterior half of anteclypeus; labrum; antenna; maxillary palpi; pair of bands between eye and antennal socket, lower band extending around ventral margin of eye. Gena buff anteriorly, merging light brown posteriorly. Epistomal suture blackish. Ocelli pale with blackish centripetal margins, tubercle brown surrounded by blackish margin. Eyes black. Fore wing (fig. 157): membrane with slight brown tinge; pterostigma with slightly darker cloud in apical half; veins dark brown. Hind wing (fig. 158) hyaline. Thorax dark brown, sutural lines blackish. Legs brown, femur and tarsi slightly darker. Abdomen ventrally buff, dorsal terga with greyish-brown annulations. Terminal segments dark brown.

Morphology. IO:D = 3.4. Distal margin of labrum with 5 sensilla, bases very thickened. Distinct row of 4 trichoid sensilla on anterior margin of outer surface of labrum. Suture surrounding ocellar tubercle an extension of median epicranial suture. Vertex-postclypeal suture fusing to anterolateral margins of ocellar tubercle, frons sclerite absent. Clypeal shelf absent. Head with reticulate granular pattern where dark brown markings occur on vertex and postclypeus.Anterior to median ocellus is an elongated patch, filled with reticulate polygonal cells, not granulated. Head bearing small scattered setae. Lacinia apically narrow, incipiently bifid. Flagellar segments bearing fine small setae, placoid sensilla distributed as follows: 3 base f 1, 1 apices f 4, f 6 and f 10, those on f 6 and f 10 with a short setiform filament. Terminal segment with bluntly pointed apex. Fore wing (fig. 157): veins with sparse short setae; vein cu 2 glabrous; veins rs and m fused for a short length. Hind wing (fig. 158) with veins r and m + cu fused basally. Mesothoracic sterna broad. Claw with subapical tooth. Pulvillus fine, flexuous, with expanded tip. Rasp and mirror of Pearman´s organ well developed. Clunium of ninth tergite (fig. 159) bearing small tubercles, margin bearing 2 incipient rows of preapical setae. Epiproct (fig. 159) with straight transverse apical margin, strongly setose in apical half. Paraproct (fig. 159) with ovoid field of about 22 trichobothria, posterior margin setose. Subgenital plate (fig. 160): median lobe with strongly sclerotised lateral margins; apex bearing 5-6 long setae, preapically a field of short setae; body of plate bearing 4 long setae, 2 medially and 2 anterolaterally; pigmented region surrounding apical membranous area extending into pair of anteriorly diverging arms. Gonapophyses (fig. 161): ventral valve well sclerotised, apex bluntly pointed, spiculate; dorsal valve broad, strongly sclerotised basally next to membranous area, apically bearing 4/5 setae; external valve with sclerotised inner opening, outer surface of lobe setose in apical half and along dorsolateral margin.

Dimensions. B 2.5, FW 3.07. HW 2.33, F 0.54, T 1.00, t

1

0.245, t

2

0.166, rt 1.5:1, ct 14,0, f

1

0.387, f

2

0.237.

Distribution. Tasmania, Deal I (Bass Strait), New South Wales and New Zealand.

Remarks. Smithers (1994b) described the overall coloration of the female as being similar to that of the male (cf. Smithers, 1969), and noted that postclypeal striae were present. The antennae, legs and maxillary palpi were pale brown. There appears to be considerable variation in the extent of coloration, as the Tasmanian females are much darker than those from New South Wales. In comparing the original description of the male by Tillyard (1923) with that of Smithers´ (1969) redescription, Tillyard noted that the postclypeus lacked striae whereas Smithers indicated they were faint. Tillyard also noted that the antennae were dark brown, and both the thorax and abdomen blackish. Smithers, however, indicated that both the antennae and thorax were pale brown, and the colour of the abdomen was not mentioned. Postclypeal striae are very obvious on the Tasmanian material and, apart from this and the blackish abdomen, the coloration is most similar to the original description of Tillyard. Tillyard did not mention a costal thickening on the male fore wing between the base and pterostigma and, interestingly, the hind wing ( Tillyard, 1923: 195, fig. 19) shows vein m+cu originating separately from vein r at the wing base. The degree of thickening of the costa on the male fore wing appears to vary: in some the length is quite short, but the costa very thick; in others the length is a little longer but the costa not quite as thick and the posterior margin bears small ripples or undulations. We have shown a male fore wing (fig. 162) for comparison with those of Tillyard (1923), and Smithers (1969). Such thickenings are present, but not as obvious, on the fore wings of males of P. melaleucae , P. bifasciatus Schmidt and Thornton and P.cochleus (see above). The four species appear to be closely related in details of the phallosome, which is nearly identical in all. Differences however can be noted. In P. melaleucae the anterior pair of endophallic sclerites each bear 3 large spines [not obvious in the phallosome figured by New (1971: 225, fig. 5)] and are adjacent to the pair of posterior sclerites. The anterior pair of endophallic sclerites of P. bifasciatus each bear 3 short spines, and lie a considerable distance from the posterior pair of sclerites. In both P. morulops and P. cochleus the anterior pair of sclerites each bear 3 spines of differing lengths: a long median spine, a rudimentary lateral spine and, in between, a spine of medium length. A phallosome is shown (fig. 163) of P. morulops from a Tasmanian specimen for comparison with those of Smithers (1969) and New (1973a). P. morulops differs from P. cochleus in details of both fore wing pigmentation and female genitalia (see remarks under P. cochleus ). P. morulops is locally widespread and was found mainly in heath, and in dry coastal scrub and wet scrub.

Figures

Figures 157-163. Peripsocus morulops Female: 157 fore wing; 158, hind wing; 159, clunium, epiproct and paraproct; 160, subgenital plate; 161, gonapophyses. Figures 154, 155 and 157-159 to common scales. Male: 162, fore wing; 163, phallosome.