Bregmatothrips ramani, Varatharajan, 2017

Varatharajan, R., 2017, A new species of the genus Bregmatothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from the Andaman Islands of India, Zootaxa 4317 (3), pp. 597-600 : 598

Bregmatothrips ramani sp.n

Female macroptera. Head and thorax brown, pterothorax often paler laterally; abdominal segments I–V yellowish brown, VI–X blackish brown; all legs yellow; fore wing colourless; antennal segments III–V yellowish brown, I–II and VI–VII brown ( Fig. 1 ). Head longer than wide, slightly projecting in front of compound eyes, cheeks parallel; three pairs of ocellar setae, ocellar setae III more than twice the length of ocellar setae II, arising on inner margins of ocellar triangle, almost on the inner tangents between the fore and hind ocelli; compound eyes flat, not prolonged ventrally; post ocular setae arising in a row parallel to eye margin, pair III distinctly longer than others, more than half as long as ocellar setae III; mouth cone long, extending between fore coxae ( Fig. 3 ). Antennae 7-segmented, segment I with two dorsoapical setae, III and IV each with a forked sense cone ( Fig. 2 ). Pronotum slightly widened towards base; two pairs of well developed posteroangular setae, inner pair longer than outer pair; four pairs of posteromarginal setae, median pair the longest ( Fig. 4 ). Mesonotum with transverse sculpture lines, anteromedian campaniform sensilla present about 35 microns apart; median and sub median pair of setae near posterior margin in a transverse line ( Fig. 7 ), median pair as wide apart as campaniform sensilla. Metanotum with very faint reticulate sculpture medially, longitudinal striations laterally; median pair of setae near anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing costa with 20 setae, first vein with 8 basal setae, 1 at middle and 2 distally; second vein with 9–11 setae; clavus with 4 + 1 setae; terminal seta longer than sub-terminal seta ( Fig. 5 ). Fore tibia with a stout spine at apex ( Fig. 6 ); hind tibia with a row of 5–6 short, stout spines on inner side and two at apex. Abdominal tergite I weakly striate, II–VIII with a few striations near anterior margin and laterally; I–VIII with pale translucent craspedum; pleurotergites slender; IX with two pairs of campaniform sensilla; X with complete median slit. Abdominal sternites without discal setae; sternite II with two pairs of posteromarginal setae; III–VII with 3 pairs of posteromarginal setae, median pair of setae on VII arise on posterior margin.

Measurements (holotype female). Body length 1375. Head, length 150; width across eyes 125; ocellar setae II 20, ocellar setae III 45; postocular setae III 25. Pronotum, length 125; width 150; outer posteroangular setae 55; inner posteroangular setae 75. Fore wing length 650. Antennal segments III–VII length 30, 40, 35, 60, 40.

Material studied. Holotype female, INDIA, Andaman Islands , Sipighat, collected in yellow pan trap, 26.iii.2016, (K. Veena Kumari) ( ICAR / NBAIR / THYS /57) . Paratypes 4 females with same data as holotype . Holotype and paratypes deposited in the Indian Agricultural Insect Museum and National Repository, National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (ICAR-NBAIR), Bengaluru, India .

Etymology. This new species is dedicated to the Nobel laureate, Dr. C.V. Raman for his outstanding contributions to the field of Physics.

Comments. The new species is the third member of Bregmatothrips genus with forked sense cones on antennal segments III and IV. From the other members of the genus, the mesonotum of ramani is unique with the presence of anteromedian campaniform sensilla which are widely separated and the mesonotal median and submedian setae are in a transverse line.

In the key to Bregmatothrips species ( Mound 2011), this species tracks to B. furcatus and B. willcocksi , and that author mentioned that these two may represent variants of a single species. However, based on the original descriptions, these species are distinguished in the key above. The new species can be distinguished from furcatus by the following combination of characters: ocellar setae III well-developed, more than twice as long as ocellar setae II, arising on inner margins of ocellar triangle, almost on the inner tangents between the fore and hind ocelli (ocellar setae III arising just outside the ocellar triangle or on the outer tangent between the fore and hind ocelli in B. furcatus ); post ocular setae III distinctly longer than others, more than half the length of ocellar setae III (post ocular setae III almost equal to setae I); post ocular setae arranged in a row parallel to the margin of compound eyes (arranged in a straight line far away from the eye margin), 4 pairs of pronotal posteromarginal setae (3 pairs); stout spine at apex of fore tibia (absent); two stout spines at apex of hind tibia (three stout spines at apex of hind tibia); all legs yellow (all coxae, femora and middle and hind tibiae brown, fore tibia yellow at apex increasingly browner towards base, all tarsi yellow).

It can be differentiated from willcocksi by the presence of the stout spine at apex of fore tibia, position of front ocellus and interocellar setae, brown antennal segment VI, 4 pairs of pronotal posteromarginals and sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae.

Bregmatothrips sinensis , described from China, can be distinguished from the new species by having 8-segmented antennae with a simple sense cone on segments III and IV, segment I with 1 dorso-apical seta, median pair of setae on sternite VII arise in front of posterior margin.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Bregmatothrips ramani sp. n .. (1) Female; (2) Antenna; (3) Head, dorsal; (4) Pronotum; (5) Fore wing; (6) Fore tibia; (7) Mesonotum.