Campanithrips kyakhei, Ulitzka, 2024

Ulitzka, Manfred R., 2024, Late Cretaceous thrips (Thysanoptera) from Hti Lin amber, Zootaxa 5489 (1), pp. 99-106 : 103-104

Campanithrips kyakhei gen. et sp. n.

( Figs 2–3 )

Female. Preserved in dorso-ventral position. Body fully distended; wings slightly spread apart from body, laterally overlapping abdomen on the right side. Hind legs and left mid leg spread, others bent under body or head, respectively. Posterior right side of head and thorax largely hidden by opaque streaks and bubbles. Left antenna bent inwards; most antennal segments permeated by air inclusions. Median parts of abdomen translucent.

Colour. Body, legs and antennae uniformly yellowish brown; major body setae pale, fringes and wing setae dark; wings shaded, veins slightly darker than wing membrane.

Head ( Fig. 2 ) about as long as wide, with compound eyes largely protruding anteriorly. Sculpture, ocelli and head setae not assessable. Mouth cone short and rounded. Antennae 9-segmented; segment I slightly conical; II basally with a short but rather strong pedicle, then reverse conically widened and almost parallel in the middle, apically with a narrow, recessed ring; III with a pedicle at base, then inverted conical, distally asymmetrical due to the attachment of a large exterior sense cone. IV–VI (including VII on the left) decreasing in diameter, rounded, each much longer than wide. Sense cone on IV not assessable, only its area of attachment visible; V–VII with long setae; VIII inverse conical; XI style-shaped. Pronotum wider than long; pronotal chaetotaxy as well as pterothoracic structure not assessable. Fore wings ( Fig. 3 ) narrow but somewhat widened in basal third, distally from the middle slightly bent forwards, tip softly pointed; with two cross veins (RP1 not visible or not developed; see Nel et al. 2012); first vein with a complete row of 12, second vein with 8 setae, both veins offset by a gap between the last and the penultimate, giving the impression of one missing seta; costa with a row of 18 long setae; wing fringes straight; wing membrane with microtrichia; clavus not assessable. Hind wing ( Fig. 3 ) setae straight; membrane without microtrichia. Fore legs with femora not enlarged; femora and tibiae with curved setae on outer edge; fore tarsi not clearly assessable, however, with hamus. Mid legs slender; femora with 3, tibiae with 4 long ventral setae; tarsi two-segmented. Hind legs slender; tibiae with a row of 3 setae and a pair of distal spines; tarsi two-segmented. Abdomen not assessable in terms of sculpture and chaetotaxy; segments VIII and IX cone-shaped, X distinctly prolonged; distal abdominal setae long and pointed; ovipositor strong.

Measurements. Female (in microns): Body, length 665. Head, length 80; largest width 100. Eyes, length 55; width about 35. Pronotum, length and setae not measurable; width 110. Pterothorax not measurable. Abdomen, length 405; largest width 145 (segment V); segment X length 40. Setae on tergite IX, s1 45, s2 30, s3 55. Antennae, length 180; length (largest width) of segment I 15 (15), II 35 (15), III 25 (10), IV 25 (10), V 20 (10), VI 20 (10), VII 15 (10), VIII 15 (5), IX 15 (5). Sense cones (segment III), length 5; basal width 5. Fore wings, length 455; width in the middle 35; costal setae about 30.

Material studied. Holotype female MU-Fos-129/1 ; inclusion in Hti Lin amber, Magway Region, Myanmar. The holotype was donated by Patrick Müller and is stored in the author’s collection.

Syninclusions. Parts of an insect leg, some small brownish droplets, air bubbles, brownish stains of unknown origin, numerous tiny crystal-like particles and a pollen grain ( Fig. 3 ) attached to the right antenna of the thrips inclusion (similar in shape to pollen of extant Cycas or respectively Cycadaceae ; length 22, width 9 microns (see APSA Members 2007; Vovides et al. 2021).

Etymology. The species epithet kyakhei was chosen in honour of the amber deposit ‘Kyakhe’ (meaning ‘tiger bite’) from which this fossil originates.

Figures

FIGURES 1–3. New Terebrantia from Hti Lin amber. (1) Avitrips yellae gen. et sp. n. holotype female (MU-Fos-128/1), lateral view. (2–3) Campanithrips kyakhei gen. et sp. n. holotype female (MU-Fos-129/1); (2) dorsal view, encircled red: pollen grain attached to the antenna of the thrips; (3) left fore wing.