Urothrips lancangensis, Zhao, Chao & Tong, Xiaoli, 2017

Zhao, Chao & Tong, Xiaoli, 2017, Two new species and two new records of fungus-feeding Phlaeothripinae from China (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae), ZooKeys 694, pp. 1-10 : 5-8

Urothrips lancangensis sp. n. Figs 13-19

Material examined

(females and males all apterous). Holotype. Female aptera, CHINA, Yunnan province, Pu’er City, Lancang County, Nuozhadu Nature Reserve (22°30'N, 100°34'E, alt. 1840m), 5.xi.2016 (Chao Zhao).

Paratypes. 6 females, 3 males, collected with holotype.

Description.

Female aptera (Fig. 13): Body bicolored, yellow and brown; largely yellow except head, pronutum, fore and hind femora and abdominal tergites I–IV (V) brown; antennal segments II–VII tinged with light brown; tergites V–IX yellow shaded with brown laterally; tube yellow with extreme apex brown.

Head (Fig. 15) as long as or a little shorter than broad; head broadly rounded in front, without any prominent setae on anterior margin, weakly produced between antennae ventrally; cheeks slightly convex; dorsal surface sculptured with polygonal reticulation except tuberculate laterally and small setae weakly expended at apex. Eyes with approximately 10 facets dorsally, but absent ventrally; ocelli absent. Antennae arising ventrally, with 7 visible segments and distinct from each other (Fig. 16); segment VII without suture between morphological segments VII and VIII; segment III with one simple sense cone, situated outside of apex; IV with two simple sense cones, each approximately two-thirds as long as the segment; segments VI and VII each with one outer simple sense cone. Maxillary stylets retracted to compound eyes, approximately half of head width apart medially.

Pronotum transverse and rectangular (Fig. 15), approximately 2.3 times as wide as long and 0.6 times as long as head; dorsal surface sculptured with polygonal reticulation and many small setae expended at apex; epimeral setae well developed and expanded at apex. Basantra reduced to a pair of small plates laterally; ferna well devel oped. Meso- and metanotum with small setae expanded at apex and faintly reticulate; meta-epimeron bulging with wart-like small tubercles and one well- developed seta expanded at apex, more slender than pronotal epimeral setae. Mesopresternum complete and transverse; mesoeusternum anterior margin entire; mesothoracic furcae fused together medially, but metathoracic furcae widely separated (Fig. 17). Fore tarsus with a hook-like hamus on external margin.

Abdomen broadest at segment II and tapering evenly to the tube. Abdominal tergite I transverse and distinctly sculptured, closely fused to tergite II, and clearly separated from metanotum (Fig. 18); tergites II–VIII sculptured with polygonal reticulation at anterior half and with a transverse row of 10-22 short, dilated and fan-shaped setae medially, and each with three pairs of short, fan-shaped setae in front of posterior margin (Figs 18, 19); tergites III–VIII each with a pair of well-developed posterolateral setae blunt at apex; tergite IX faintly reticulate, approximately 2.5 times as long as distal wide. Tube weakly reticulate, slightly shorter than head length, constracted submedially and weakly convex near apex; tube with three pairs of anal setae; the longest lateral anal setae approximately 3.5 times as long as tube, but median dorsal pair shorter than the lateral two pairs.

Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1400. Head length 180; maximum width 190. Pronotum length 110; median width 250; epimeral setae 20. Metathoracic epimeral setae 20. Abdominal tergite IX length 120, basal width 75, distal width 40. Tube length 130, basal width 22, apical width 25; anal setae 430. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width) as follows: 20(36), 28 (31), 37 (23), 39 (24), 45 (20), 40 (15), 47 (12).

Male aptera. (Fig. 14). Color and structure similar to apterous female, but body smaller.

Measurements (paratype male in microns). Body length 1050. Head length 160; maximum width 160. Pronotum length 90; median width 185; epimeral setae 13. Metathoracic epimeral setae 13. Abdominal tergite IX length 105, basal width 55, distal width 40. Tube length 115, basal width 20, apical width 22; anal setae 370. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width) as follows: 22(33), 23 (31), 32 (19), 29 (22), 33 (20), 31(17), 39(13).

Distribution.

China (Yunnan).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is named after the type locality, Lancang County, Yunnan Province, China.

Remarks.

There are ten species recognized in this genus ( ThripsWiki 2017), of which three are recorded from China ( Tong and Zhao 2017). The new species described here shares morphological affinities with Urothrips tarai (Stannard, 1970), particularly in the shape of antennae, but it can be differentiated from the latter by the following diagnostic characters: (1) head broadly rounded in front (vs slightly produced in U. tarai ); (2) dorsal surfaces of head and pronotum largely sculptured with polygonal reticulation (vs head and pronotum distinctly tuberculate and without reticulation in U. tarai ); (3) major body setae on head, pronotum, especially on abdominal tergites are stout, dilated and fan-shaped at apex (in U. tarai , the major body setae are fine and pointed except epimeral, meta-epimeron and abdominal tergites III–VIII posterolateral setae); (4) fore femora brown (while fore femora yellow in U. tarai ).