Sitothrips izadpanahi, Minaei & Mound, 2014

Minaei, Kambiz & Mound, Laurence, 2014, The genus Sitothrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) with a new grass-living species from southern Iran, Zootaxa 3884 (6), pp. 594-596 : 594-596

Sitothrips izadpanahi sp. n.

Female macroptera. Body generally brown, antennal segment III pale, shaded at margin, IV light brown, all tarsi pale, fore tibia yellow at apex; major setae on pronotum light brown, other setae brown; fore wings shaded.

Antennae 8-segmented; segment I without dorsal apical setae, segments III–IV with forked sense cone; microtrichia present on III–V. Head longer than wide, slightly produced in front of eyes, transversely weakly reticulate ( Fig. 2 ); three pairs of ocellar setae present, ocellar setae III on tangent joining posterior margins of hind ocelli, about three times as long as ocellar setae I and II ( Fig. 2 ); four pairs of postocular setae present, post ocular setae III long, longer than antennal segment II. Eyes without pigmented facets. Maxillary palps 3-segmented ( Fig. 5 ). Pronotum with irregular transverse sculpture lines; two pairs of posteroangular setae, posterior margin with 3–4 pairs of setae ( Fig. 4 ). Ferna meeting medially ( Fig. 5 ). Fore tarsus with a small ventro-apical tubercle ( Fig. 3 ). Metanotal sculpture longitudinally linear on anterior half, median setae near anterior margin, closer to lateral pair than to each other; campaniform sensilla absent. Mesosternum with spinula, metasternum without. Fore wing narrow, first vein with about 10 widely spaced setae, second vein with 7–11; clavus with 5–6 veinal and 1 discal seta. Tarsi 2-segmented. Abdominal tergites with transverse reticulation medially; tergites II–VIII with median setae (S1) small and wide apart but nearly twice as long as setae S2; IV–VII with paired very weak ctenidia laterally terminating just anterolateral to setae S3; tergite VIII with weak paired ctenidia anterolateral to spiracle but also with irregular microtrichia on sculpture lines mesad of the spiracle, posteromarginal comb not developed ( Fig. 6 ); IX with two pairs of campaniform sensilla, tergite X divided. Sternite II with 2 pairs of posteromarginal setae, III–VII with 3 pairs, median pair on VII arising submarginally; discal setae absent.

Measurements (holotype in microns). Body length distended 1715. Head length (width) 167 (133); postocular setae 37. Pronotum length (width) 128 (185); posteroangular setae 56. Fore wing length (median width) [taken from one female paratype] 800 (40). Tergite IX S1 setae 100, S2 setae 120. Antennal segments I–VIII length 26, 34, 42, 40, 36, 45, 9, 13.

Male. Similar to female; abdominal tergite IX with two pairs of stout setae ( Fig. 8 ); sternites III–VII with oval pore plate, smaller on VI and VII ( Fig. 7 ).

Measurements (paratype in microns). Body length distended 1275. Head length (width) 145 (124); postocular setae 30. Pronotum length (width) 106 (154); posteroangular setae 37. Fore wing length (median width) 733 (33). Antennal segments I–VIII length 20, 30, 34, 35, 33, 43, 7, 11.

Specimens examined. Holotype female: IRAN, Fars Province, Shiraz, from leaves of grasses ( Poaceae ), 25.iv.2014 ( KM 1167 ), in the Natural History Museum, London.

Paratypes: 6 females, 2 males, same data as holotype, in Department of Plant Protection , College of Agriculture , Shiraz University, Shiraz ; 1 female paratype in the Natural History Museum , London , and one in the Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra .

Comments. Differing from the other species in Sitothrips by the presence of 3-segmented, rather than 2-segmented, maxillary palps, S. izadpanahi is superficially close to arabicus. They differ in that in arabicus the apex of the fore tarsus bears a curved hook-like projection that appears to be associated with the arolium in the available slide-mounted specimens; this structure is absent in the new species ( Fig. 3 ). Moreover, arabicus has strong sculpture on the head and pronotum but the new species lacks such sculpture ( Figs 1, 2, 4 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–8. Sitothrips from Iran. (1) arabicus, head and pronotum. 2–8 izadpanahi: (2) head (3) fore tarsus (4) pronotum (5) prosternum (6) abdominal tergites VII–VIII (7) male abdominal sternites III–VII (8) male abdominal tergite IX.