Sophiothrips martinae Mound & Tree 2014, sp. n.
Creators: name: Mound, Laurence A.
name: Tree, Desley J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Thysanoptera
Phlaeothripidae
Sophiothrips
Sophiothrips martinae

description: Sophiothrips martinae sp. n.
(Figs 4, 11, 16, 21, 28, 29)
Male aptera: Generally yellow but patterned with many light brown markings (Fig. 4); head with posterior margin brown, also two brown spots between eyes and darker brown on interantennal region ventrally; antennal segment I yellow, also base of II–VI, rest brown; pronotum with two brown areas; all coxae, tibiae and tarsi brown, femora bicoloured; abdominal segments V–VII light brown medially; tube with apical ring dark; all setae pale.
Head wider than long, almost without sculpture except near posterior margin, with 2 pairs of postocular setae, one pair of ocellar setae; stylets not extending into head capsule; large male with small dark horn ventrally between bases of antennae. Antennal segment VIII broadly joined to VII (Fig. 11); segments III and IV each with 2 sensoria but these vary in length, V and VI each with 3 longer sensoria. Pronotum almost without sculpture, median apodeme weak; am setae minute, aa shorter than ml, epim and pa setae; notopleural sutures complete. Large males with fore femora swollen and fore tarsal tooth large (Fig. 4). Meso and metanota transverse, metanotum with one pair of prominent acute setae. Prosternal basantra faintly indicated, mesopresternum very slender, mesoeusternum entire. Pelta shape irregularly transverse (Fig. 16), campaniform sensilla present; tergites with weak transverse sculpture, lateral pair of setae on II–VII short and stout; tergite IX with no dorsal marginal tubercle (Fig. 29), setae shorter than tube, anal setae short. Sternites V–VI with paired anterolateral areas of faint specialized reticulation (Fig. 21).
Measurements (holotype male in microns). Body length 1200. Head, length 110; width 140; ocellar setae 20; lateral postocular setae 15. Pronotum, length 175; width 235; major setae am 5, aa 20, ml 50, epim 40, pa 50. Metanotal major setae 25. Tergite VI posteroangular setae 30; tergite IX setae S1 55, S2 25, S3 60. Tube length 85. Sternite II marginal setae S1 25; sternite VIII marginal setae S1 40. Antennal segments III–VIII length 45, 40, 25, 30, 30, 20.
Female aptera: closely similar to male in colour and structure, head without ventral horn; fore tarsal tooth small; tergite IX setae S2 small and weak, and shorter than the pairs of intermediate (iS) tergal marginal setae (Fig. 28); sternites without specialized reticulate areas.
Measurements (paratype female in microns). Body length 1170. Head, length 100; width 155. Pronotum, length 150; width 250; major setae epim 25, pa 25. Metanotal major setae 20. Tergite IX setae S1 45, iS 15, S2 10, S3 35. Tube length 85. Sternite II marginal setae S1 15; sternite VIII marginal setae S1 35.
Specimens studied: Holotype male, Norfolk Island, Palm Glen Track, dead Citrus jambhiri, 12.vii.2013 (Alice Wells).
Paratypes, all Norfolk Island, from dead branches: 2 males, 3 females taken with holotype; same locality, 1 male, 3 females, 23.xii.2012; Bird Rock Track, 3 males, 5 females, 25.xii.2012; Selwyn Pine Road, 1 male, 1 female, 24.xii.2012, and 1 male, 1 female, 24.xii.2013; 100 Acre Reserve, 1 male, 1 female, 25.xii.2013; Mt Pitt, 1 male, 1 female, 22.xii.2013; Mission Road rainforest, 2 females, 23.xii.2013.
Comments. In structure this species is closely similar to the New Zealand species, aleurodisci, but is startlingly different in being sharply bicoloured instead of uniformly brown. Moreover, the short setae S2 on tergite IX of females is a condition that is not recorded from any other species in this genus, and is certainly different from the condition in aleurodisci. The name martinae recognizes the contributions made by Mera Martin to the success of insect surveying studies on Norfolk Island.
description: Published as part of Mound, Laurence A. & Tree, Desley J., 2014, The minute, fungus-feeding species of Sophiothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae) from Australia and New Zealand, pp. 184-194 in Zootaxa 3860 (2) on pages 188-189, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3860.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/4930179