Aeolothrips persiae Alavi & Minaei 2018, sp. n.
Creators: name: Alavi, Jalil
name: Minaei, Kambiz
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Thysanoptera
Aeolothripidae
Aeolothrips
Aeolothrips persiae

description: Aeolothrips persiae sp. n.
(Figs 1–11)
Female macroptera. Body brown, median abdominal segments somewhat lighter; fore tibiae in distal third, mid tibiae in distal sixth and fore and mid tarsi yellow; extreme apex of hind tibiae and hind tarsi brownish yellow. Antennal segment II slightly lighter at apex, III yellow, greyish at apex, IV–IX pale brown, lighter than head, IV yellowish at base (Fig. 1). Fore wings pale with two brown transverse bands which are connected posteriorly by narrow longitudinal band that does not reach the posterior longitudinal vein (Fig. 2). Vertex with 3 pairs of preocellar setae, 3 pairs of setae between ocellar triangle and eyes, and 1 pair of setae within ocellar triangle situated on anterior margin of posterior ocelli; postocular area with 4–5 pairs of setae in 2 regular oblique rows (Fig. 3). Antennal segment III with short linear sensorium usually 0.2 as long as segment, extending at most to apical third of segment; IV with linear sensorium little curved and wider distally, extending at most from apex to basal half of segment; V short, about 0.6 times as long as VI–IX together (Fig. 1). Frontoclypeus with about 20 pairs of small setae, without distinctive pair of mid-lateral setae beside eyes (Fig. 4). Pronotum with about 40 minute discal setae, with 4–5 pairs of posteromarginal setae (Fig. 3). Mesonotum with 1 pair of median setae (Fig. 5). Metascutum with transverse concave reticulation on posterior half and relatively equiangular reticulation on anterior half, without internal markings (Fig. 5). Fore wing first cross vein at middle of first transverse dark band; second cross vein at beginning or just within second band (Fig. 2). Abdominal tergite I without median paired campaniform sensilla. Sternite I not eroded; II with 3 pairs of submarginal setae; III–VII with 4 pairs of setae on posterior margins of which 2 lateral pairs far from margins; II–VI without discal setae; setae S1 on sternite VII closer to S2 than to each other; VII with 2 pairs of widely separated median accessory setae (Fig. 6). Hemisternites VIII without discal setae.
Measurements (holotype female, in microns). Body distended length 1750, Head length (width across cheeks) 137 (167), interocellar setae length 10. Antennal segments I–IX length (width): 29 (35), 50 (30), 75 (22), 55 (23), 49 (22), 20 (19), 15 (15), 17 (12), 15 (7). Mesonotum median setae length (interval) 12 (27), strong lateral setae length 27–32. Metascutum anterior marginal setae length (interval) 25 (32), posterior setae length (interval) 7 (30). Fore wing length 850, width across first cross vein 92, across second cross vein 100; transverse bands length along the anterior margin 150 and 175, intervening white area length 150; Fore to hind tibiae length 170, 160 and 250, respectively. Tergite IX median length 87, setae S1 length 110, S2 length 137. Ovipositor length 360.
Male macroptera. Smaller than female, differing in colour of antennae and legs; antennal segments I–II yellow; III yellow, gradually darker toward apex in distal fourth; IV–IX light brown; IV slightly lighter at base except dark pedicle (Fig 8). Fore legs entirely white yellow except basal half of tibiae slightly gray; mid and hind tibiae distinctly bicolour, yellow distally; femora entirely white yellow; all tarsi yellow with dark spot at apex. Fore wing colour pattern similar to female. Antennal segment III sensorium very short, extending at most to distal third of segment; sensorium on IV extending at most to distal half of segment; antennal segment V distinctly shorter than last four segments together (Fig. 8). Mid coxae without ridges or tubercle. Abdominal tergites without tubercles; tergites III–VIII with two transverse dark stripes on anterior margin (Fig. 9); IX without claspers or sickle-shaped setae laterally, with 3 pairs of lateral setae of which the most posterior longest, with 2 marginal and 1 mid-lateral pairs of setae, campaniform sensilla situated in front and far away from marginal setae S1 (Fig. 10). Sternites II– VIII without discal setae; sternite IX with 4 pairs setae arranged in U-shape (Fig. 11).
Measurements (paratype male, in microns). Body distended length 1375. Head length (width across cheeks) 105 (157). Antenna segments I–IX length (width): 25 (32), 45 (25), 62 (22), 62 (20), 42 (21), 15 (16), 12 (15), 16 (10), 10 (6). Pronotum median length (width) 125 (162). Mesonotum dorsal setae length (interval) 15 (25), strong lateral setae length 30. Metascutum anteromarginal setae length (interval) 22 (33), posterior setae length (interval) 9 (25). Fore wing length 730. Fore to hind tibiae length length 150, 150, and 220, respectively. Abdominal tergite I length 110, tergite IX median length 112, posteromarginal setae S1 length (interval) 45 (20), length of longest lateral seta 51, segment X length 88, setae S1 length 18, setae S2 length 100.
Material studied. Holotype female: IRAN, Khorasan-e Shomali province, Ashkhaneh, Ghorreh meydan, from flowering Chenopodium album, 30.iv.2014, J. Alavi.
Paratypes: 5 females, 4 males, same data as holotype.
Comments. A. persiae is similar in several characters to a group containing A. afghanus, A. eremicola, A. zurstrasseni, A. flaviventer and A. bhattii: the much shorter antennal segment V (in comparison with segments VI– IX together), the chaetotaxy of frontoclypeus, pattern of metascutal sculpture, absence of paired median pores on tergite I in female, and also in male lack of claspers and sickle-like setae on abdominal tergite IX, and presence of three pairs of median discal setae on sternite IX. These species (except A. bhattii) also share in brightness of the ends of all tibiae. The first character state is also seen in a Turkish species, A. heinzi, in which segment V is short and VI–IX are long. Segment V is less than 2.0 times as long as VI, and less than 0.6 times as long as VI–IX together. While, these comparisons for other mentioned species are more than 2.5 and 0.6–0.7, respectively. Additionally, all legs of A. heinzi are uniformly dark and the two dark bands are separated.
However, the new species is easily distinguishable from the bicoloured small species, A. bhattii, by dark brown colour and larger body. A. persiae is very similar to A. eremicola in colour pattern of fore wings (Figs. 2, 57) as well as the general colour of the body, but: antennal segments of A. persiae are brighter than in A. eremicola; antennal segments III–IV in female are yellow with extreme apex shaded (Fig. 1), but in A. eremicola only slightly shaded about the apical fourth or somewhat more, IV slightly and indistinctly shaded about apical half (Fig. 50). In male of A. persiae the apical one-third of antennal segment III is gradually darker to apex (Fig. 8), whereas in A. eremicola, it is sharply brown in the apical two-thirds (Fig. 51). Moreover, the head of male A. persiae, is entirely brown (Fig. 7), but in A. eremicola the front of the vertex is white (Fig. 82).
A. persiae is also very similar to A. afghanus and A. zurstrasseni in the colour of the antenna and the general colour of the body, but it is easily distinguishable from them by the colour pattern of the fore wings. Additionally, the head of male A. persiae is entirely brown, but the vertex front in A. zurstrasseni is white.
A. persiae is also similar to A. flaviventer in colour of the antenna, but A. flaviventer is distinguished by the lighter median abdominal segments and distinct paired setae between posterior ocelli. Furthermore, the colour pattern of the fore wings is definitely different in A. flaviventer with one light brown spot at middle on anterior margin and one sub-apical transverse band (sometimes eroded medially) (see Pelikán 1983).
Etymology. Persia is historically the common name for Iran.
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 348-351, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4446.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/1444235