Aeolothrips Haliday 1836
Creators: name: Alavi, Jalil
name: Minaei, Kambiz
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Thysanoptera
Aeolothripidae
Aeolothrips

description: Aeolothrips character states
In studying Aeolothrips species found in Iran some previously little-used character states have been found useful for species recognition.
Chaetotaxy of frontoclypeus. In some species a pair of distinct mid-lateral setae is present near the compound eyes, and the frontoclypeus usually bears about 15 pairs of small setae (Figs 15, 79). In other species distinct midlateral setae are absent near the eyes and the frontoclypeus usually bears more than 20 pairs of small setae (Fig. 4).
Metascutum sculpture pattern. Among species from Iran, two patterns can be distinguished. Metascutum entirely covered with a network of equiangular reticulation (Figs 16, 64–65), and the metascutum with curved transverse reticulation on posterior half and relatively equiangular reticulation on anterior (Fig. 5). However, in the micropterous forms of A. albicinctus this sculpture is weak while in the macropterous forms of the species the equiangular reticulation is more recognizable. In the American species, A. nitidus, the metascutum is entirely covered by transverse concave reticulation forming curved concentric bands around the anterior margin (Hoddle et al. 2012), and in A. asirensis from Saudi Arabia the metascutum is covered by curved transverse reticulation on the posterior half and concentric rings of sculpture on anterior half (zur Strassen 1979).
Abdominal sternite I. Most species have this sternite narrow medially with relatively broader sides and with usually two pairs of minute discal setae. However, in A. tatari sp. n. this sclerite is eroded medially to paired lateral triangles with one pair of minute setae (Fig. 17).
Chaetotaxy of sternites. In all species of Aeolothrips sternite VII bears four pairs of marginal setae, but on sternites II–VI the number of marginal setae is variable: in most species these five sternites bear 3-4-4-4-4 setae, but in A. gloriosus and A. wittmeri there are 2-3-2-3-4 and in A. albithorax 2-3-4-4-4. Abdominal sternite VII always bears two pairs of accessory (= supernumerary) setae, but their position varies among species. Sternal discal setae are usually not present in members of this genus, but sternite VII of A. moundi has one pair of discal setae laterally, and sternites VI–VII of A. scabiosatibia have 2–3 pairs laterally. In A. gundeliae sternites II–VI each have 0–3 discal setae medially (Fig. 69), and VII 0–2 discal seta laterally. Similarly, A. tatari sp. n. has 1–2 discal setae laterally on sternites VI–VII (Fig. 18).
Spermatheca shape. Bhatti (1988b) provided illustrations of this structure for 11 species and suggested that the apparent structural differences might be species specific. In the key below, this structure has been used for distinguishing A. intermedius, A. fasciatus and the most common species in Iran, A. mongolicus (Figs 34–36).
Chaetotaxy of epiproct. Bhatti (2006) indicated that A. albicinctus is exceptional within the genus in lacking a median seta on the posterior margin of the epiproct, with only the two lateral setae present (Fig. 31), whereas in other species the epiproct bears all three marginal setae (Figs 32–33).
Male head colour. Generally this is uniformly brown, but as reported here in some species, such as A. eremicola, A. iranicus and A. zurstrasseni, the head is bicoloured with a brighter area anteriorly between the ocelli and antennae (Figs 81–83).
Male mid coxae. Males that bear claspers on tergite IX also have a series of strong ridges posteriorly on the mid coxae together with a tooth-like hump medially (Fig. 95). This structure was first illustrated by Doeksen (1941), and although Priesner (1948) mentioned the character, he did not use it in his identification key. The function of this structure is still unknown. Doeksen (1941) assumed that it was a tool for clamping onto females when copulating, but Bhatti (2006) suggested it may be a stridulatory apparatus. These structures do not occur in females.
Male tergite IX. In males of species that have claspers, a setal pair laterally on abdominal segment IX may be stoutly curved, almost sickle shaped (A. collaris, A. gundeliae, A. iranicus, A. tenuicornis) (Fig. 89), stout and geniculate (A. melaleucus) (Fig. 91), or weak and setaceous (A. fasciatus, A. intermedius, A. laurencei, A. mongolicus).
Male hypandrium. The number of discal setae on the hypandrium (sternite IX) differs among species. In some species (A. fasciatus, A. collaris, A.intermedius, A. mongolicus, A. tenuicornis) there are no discal setae on the hypandrium, but in other species there may be three pairs (A. afghanus, A. bhatti, A. eremicola, A. persiae sp. n., A. zurstrasseni) or two pairs (such as A. albicinctus, A. albithorax, A. bournieri, A. brevicornis, A. scabiosatibia and A. wittmeri). This character has not previously recognized in Aeolothrips.
description: Published as part of Alavi, Jalil & Minaei, Kambiz, 2018, Studies on the genus Aeolothrips (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) in Iran, with a key to species, pp. 343-360 in Zootaxa 4446 (3) on pages 344-345, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4446.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/1444235