Octurothrips Priesner

Mound, Laurence A., Dang, Li-Hong & Tree, Desley J., 2013, Genera of fungivorous Phlaeothripinae (Thysanoptera) from dead branches and leaf-litter in Australia, Zootaxa 3681 (3), pp. 201-224 : 214-215

Octurothrips Priesner

The only species in this genus, O. pulcher , is known only from Australia, where it is widespread in leaf litter of the dry country west of the Great Divide between South Australia and central Queensland. It shares a very elongate tenth abdominal segment ( Fig. 32 ) with taxa such as Baenothrips and Stephanothrips , but the pelta is different in structure.

Diagnosis. Body tuberculate-reticulate; head with cheeks rounded, converging to base; eyes large dorsally but not present ventrally; maxillary stylets retracted to eyes, scarcely 1/3 of head width apart; antennae 8-segmented but VI–VIII closely joined, III with no sensoria, IV with 2 sensoria; pronotum with only epimeral setae welldeveloped, no notopleural sutures; basantra large; mesopraesternum complete, slender; no sternopleural sutures; fore tarsi without tooth; fore wings, if present, narrow, no duplicated cilia; pelta broad; abdominal tergites II–VII each with two pairs of broad wing-retaining setae in macropterae; tergite IX at least twice as long as VIII; tube slightly longer than head, anal setae more than twice as long as tube; male sternite VIII without pore plate.

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 38. Phlaeothripinae genera. (32) Octurothrips pulcher, tergites IX – X; (33) Solomonthrips australiensis, tergites VII – IX; (34) Psalidothrips taylori, thoracic sternites—arrows indicate sterno-pleural sutures; (35) Psalidothrips sp., male; (36) Sophiothrips sp.; (37) Senithrips psomus, macroptera thoracic sternites; (38) Pygmaeothrips angusticeps, female microptera.