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A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China (ysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae)67
A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China
(Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae)
Chao Zhao1, Xiaoli Tong1
1 Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou
510642, China
Corresponding author: Xiaoli Tong (xtong@scau.edu.cn)
Academic editor: L. Mound|Received 3 October 2016|Accepted 17 November 2016|Published 24 November 2016
http://zoobank.org/95CD43A2-9F48-4E1F-B3E3-7ABAEB4F81EF
Citation: Zhao C, Tong X (2016) A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China (ysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae).
ZooKeys 636: 67–75. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.636.10706
Abstract
A new urothripine species, Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n., is described from China. is is distinguished
from its congeners by the following combination of characteristics: dorsal surface of head having a wedge-
shaped reticulation extending from median to the posterior margin; antennal segments VII–VIII is closely
joined with a complete suture; the mesoacrotergite strongly constricted in the middle; abdominal tergite I
divided into 5 plates; width of membranous gap between ovispan on abdominal sternite IX approximately
1/3 of the apical width of segment IX.
Keywords
Baenothrips, China, fungus-feeding thrips, new species
Introduction
e genus Baenothrips Crawford currently comprises 11 species in the world, of which
ve are distributed in Asia (ripsWiki 2016). ese thrips are considered to be fungus-
feeding, with most living in leaf litter, grass tussocks or dead twigs (Stannard 1970;
Mound 1972; Okajima 1994). However, some species, such as B. moundi Stannard
of Australia, can crawl up above soil level to grass stems, and are likely to be wind-
dispersed (Mound 1972; Ulitzka and Mound 2014). e new species described below
ZooKeys 636: 67–75 (2016)
doi: 10.3897/zookeys.636.10706
http://zookeys.pensoft.net
Copyright Chao Zhao, Xiaoli Tong. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC
BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Chao Zhao & Xiaoli Tong / ZooKeys 636: 67–75 (2016)
68
has similar dispersive behaviour, and can be collected not only in leaf litter but also on
fresh leaves or stems of grass, fern, and dicotyledons. Presumably this species normally
inhabits leaf litter, but crawls up fresh plants occasionally and is then dispersed by wind.
Materials and methods
e thrips were extracted by using Tullgren funnels from leaf litter, or collected by
beating vegetation over a white plastic tray using a small stick, and then sorted and
preserved in 90% alcohol. Specimens were then mounted into Canada balsam on
microscope slides. Structural details were examined with a ZEISS Imager A1 micro-
scope, photos were taken by a Photometrics CoolSNAP camera, and the gures were
subsequently processed with Adobe Photoshop CS6. All type specimens are deposited
in the Insect Collection, South China Agricultural University (SCAU).
Taxonomy
Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n.
http://zoobank.org/9CD835D4-F839-4FA7-A13E-CCCD48079809
Figs 1–14
Material examined (All specimens were collected from leaf litter unless otherwise
noted; females all macropterous, males all apterous).
Holotype. Female macroptera, CHINA, Guangdong province, Gaozhou County,
Yuntan Town, Mt. Sanguanshan (21°55’10”N, 111°8’40”E), in leaf litter of Acacia
auriculiformis (Fabaceae), 15.xii.2014, Chao Zhao (in SCAU).
Paratypes. 8 females 1 male, taken with holotype; 3 females 7 males, same locality
and habitat as holotype, 5.ix.2015, Zhaohong Wang. CHINA, Hunan: 1 female, Yanling
County, Shennong Valley (26°29'N, 114°1'E), on grass stem or leaf, 15.ix.2014, Chao
Zhao. 1 female, Yanling County, Shennong Valley (26°29'N, 114°1'E), in leaf litter of
Cryptomeria fortune (Taxodiaceae), 16.ix.2014, Chao Zhao. Guangdong: 1 male, Shix-
ing County, e Chebaling National Nature Reserve (24°42'N, 114°11'E), 11.x.2002,
Zhiwei Li; 3 females 1 male, Huizhou City, Mt. Nankunshan (23°38'N, 113°50'E),
11.xii.2002, Zhiwei Li; 1 female, Guangzhou City, Longdong Forest Park (23°14’ N,
113°24’ E), 5.xii.2004, 1 female, in leaf litter of Acacia auriculiformis, 1.xii.2006, Jun
Wang; 1 female, Dongguan City, Mt. Yinpingshan (21°55’10”N, 111°8’40”E), on fresh
leaf of Stenoloma chusanum (Lindsaeaceae), 10.ix.2014, Chao Zhao; 3 females, Guang-
zhou City, Mt. Maofengshan (23°17'N, 113°27'E), on fresh leaf or stem of Dicranop-
teris dichotoma (Gleicheniaceae), 4.i.2016, Chao Zhao; 3 females, Shenzhen City, Mt.
Wutongshan (22°24'N, 113°17'E), on fresh leaf or stem of Dicranopteris dichotoma,
29.iv.2016, Chao Zhao. Guangxi: 1 female, Nanning City (22°48'N, 108°22'E), on
fresh leaf or stem of Pennisetum purpureum (Poaceae), 3.x.2012 (Shulan Yang); 1 females,
A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China (ysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae)69
Figures 1–4. Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n. 1 female habitus 2a male habitus 2b male genitalia 3 head of
female 4 head of male.
Shangsi County, Shiwandashan National Forest Park (25°54'N, 107°54'E), on grass stem
or leaf, 25.vii.2016, Chao Zhao. Yunnan: 1 female, Jinghong City, 5.iv.1987, Xiaoli
Tong. Hainan: 1 male, Baisha County, Yinggeling National Nature Reserve, Yinggezui
Chao Zhao & Xiaoli Tong / ZooKeys 636: 67–75 (2016)
70
Protection Station (18°03'N, 109°54'E), on fresh leaf of Argyreia acuta (Convolvulaceae),
8.i.2016, Xiaoli Tong.
Description. Female macroptera (Fig. 1): Head and prothorax dark brown; ptero-
thorax yellowish white with dark brown anteriorly and laterally; abdominal tergites I–
IX yellowish white with brown laterally, of which tergites II–V each with a pair of light
brown circular patches on either side; tube yellow with extreme apex dark brown. All
coxae, trochanters and apical half of tarsi brown; fore and mid femora yellowish white
except for inner base brown, hind femora pale yellowish brown with brown on dor-
sal margins; fore tibiae yellowish white, mid tibiae yellowish yellow shaded with light
brown on outer margins, hind tibiae whitish but brown medially. Antennal segment I
pale brown, segments II–VI yellowish white, segments VII and VIII pale brown.
Head (Fig. 3) almost as long as broad or a little shorter; head broadly rounded in
front, with three pairs elongate cephalic setae on anterior margin; dorsal surface tuber-
culate and with a wedge-shape reticulation extending from middle to posterior margin;
cheeks almost straight. Eyes with approximately eight facets dorsally and six ventrally,
of which three dorso-lateral facets are distinctly larger than the others; three ocelli pre-
sent, anterior ocellus placed between inner cephalic setae, posterior ocelli behind outer
pair of cephalic setae and placed close to eyes. Antenna 8-segmented, arising ventrally
(Fig. 13), segments VII–VIII closely joined with a complete suture; segment III with
no sense cones, IV with two sense cones, each approximately two-thirds as long as the
segment; segment V with one sense cone, situated outside of apex; segments VI and
VII each with one sense cone dorsally. Maxillary stylets retracted to base of compound
eyes, approximately one-third of head width apart medially.
Pronotum rectangular (Fig. 5), shorter than head, dorsal surface with irregular
sculpture and wart-like tubercles; epimeral setae well developed. Mesoacrotergite
strongly constricted medially by a very narrow bridge (Figs 7, 11); mesonotum sculp-
tured with transverse dotted lines on anterior third; meta-epimeron bulging with one
well developed seta. Fore wing bulging at base without basal setae; both fore wing and
hind wing with a median vein or thickening, and with many, but not closely spaced,
fringe cilia. Basantra weakly developed, largely membranous; ferna well developed,
strongly narrowed posteromedially (Fig. 6); mesopresternum complete and trans-
verse; mesoeusternum anterior margin entire. Mesosternal furcae fused in the middle;
metasternal furcae placed laterally and widely separated (Fig. 8). All tarsi unarmed.
Abdominal tergite I divided into ve plates, a slender median longitudinal plate
bearing a campaniform sensillum (Fig. 14); tergite II with a pair of expanded wing-
retaining setae; tergites III–VII with two pairs of wing-retaining setae, inner pair
knife-like and outer pair n-shaped (Fig. 9; cf. Bhatti 2002: g 15a); tergites III–VIII
posterolateral setae enlarged, each with a transverse row of 12–18 short setae medi-
ally; tergite IX 4.4 times as long as distal wide; ovispan slightly reduced, the width of
membranous gap between ovispan approximately 1/3 of the apical width of segment
IX (Fig. 12). Tube approximately twice as long as head with three pairs of anal setae;
anal setae nearly 2.2 times as long as tube, but median dorsal pair half as long as the
lateral two pairs.
A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China (ysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae)71
Figures 5–10. Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n. 5 pronotum 6 ventral view of prothorax 7 dorsal view of
pterothorax (arrow indicates mesoacrotergite constricted medially) 8 ventral view of pterothorax (show
meso- and metasternal furcae) 9 abdominal tergites II–III of female 10 abdominal tergites II–III of male.
Measurements (holotype female in microns). Body length 1680. Head length
165; maximum width 170; anterior cephalic setae, median pair 73, lateral inner pair
65, outer pair 55. Pronotum length 100; median width 185; epimeral setae 27. Meta-
thoracic epimeral setae 30. Abdominal tergite IX length 175, basal width 100, distal
width 40. Tube length 315, basal width 20, apical width 30; anal setae, dorsal pair
335, lateral pairs 750. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width) as follows: 22 (28), 30
(29), 36 (25), 33 (24), 30 (21), 28 (19), 24 (14), 22 (10).
Male aptera (Fig. 2a): Head with only two pairs of elongate cephalic setae on ante-
rior margin; wedge-shape reticulation of head wider than in female (Fig. 4); abdominal
Chao Zhao & Xiaoli Tong / ZooKeys 636: 67–75 (2016)
72
Figures 11–14. Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n. (female) 11 mesoacrotergite 12 abdominal sternite IX (arrow
indicates the ovispan) 13 antennal segments II–VIII 14 abdominal tergite I.
A new species of Baenothrips Crawford from China (ysanoptera, Phlaeothripidae)73
tergites III–VII without brown circular patches on either side; tergites II–VII with only
one pair of wing-retaining setae (Fig. 10); abdominal tergite IX nearly three times as
long as distal wide. Male genitalia as in gure 2b.
Measurements (paratype male in microns). Body length 1180. Head length 120;
maximum width 140; two pairs of anterior cephalic setae 42. Pronotum length 80; median
width 165; epimeral setae 20. Metathoracic epimeral setae 18. Abdominal tergite IX length
120, basal width 80, distal width 40. Tube length 225, basal width 15, apical width 25;
anal setae, median dorsal pair 230, lateral pairs 550. Antennal segments I to VIII length
(width) as follows: 16 (27), 25 (27), 35 (23), 27 (23), 35 (21), 24 (19), 25 (15), 17 (13).
Etymology. e specic epithet is from the Latin adjective “cuneatus” meaning
wedge-shaped, and refers to the shape of reticulation on head.
Distribution. China (Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan).
Remarks. Only two species of the genus Baenothrips Crawford are validly recorded
from China, B. cuneatus, and B. ryukyuensis Okajima. e record by Kudô (1978), of
B. asper (Bournier) from China in Taiwan, was considered by Okajima (1994) to be
a misidentication and to actually refer to ryukyuensis. Similarly, Bhatti (2002) sug-
gested that the species B. asper is known only from Africa, and that the Asian records
refer to some other species. Recently, B. ryukyuensis was recorded by Dang and Qiao
(2014) from Fujian, China. Moreover, during sorting of specimens Baenothrips from
China we found in our collections slide-mounted specimens labelled by Wang and
Tong (2007) as B. murphyi (Stannard), and recognised that these actually represent B.
cuneatus, the new species described above.
Baenothrips cuneatus sp. n. is most closely related to B. asper (Bournier) in colour
pattern and several other features, but in the new species, dorsal surface of head hav-
ing a wedge-shaped reticulation extending from median to the posterior margin; the
mesoacrotergite is strongly constricted medially by a very narrow bridge (Figs 7, 11) as
in B. moundi (Stannard) (cf. Bhatti 2002: g 25) and the membranous gap (Fig. 12)
between the ovispan on abdominal sternite IX is much wider than those in B. asper
(Bournier) (cf. Bhatti 2002: g 18). In addition, there are other ve species of the ge-
nus occurring in Asia, some of them are also similar to B. cuneatus sp. n., but this new
species can be distinguish from them by the below key.
Key to Asian species of Baenothrips (female)
1 Head with two pairs of prominent anterior cephalic setae ........................... 2
– Head with three pairs of distinct anterior cephalic setae .............................. 3
2 Two pairs of anterior cephalic setae situated laterally, and median pair of
anterior cephalic setae absent; macroptera ................................B. quadratus
– Only one lateral cephalic seta on either side, and one median pair of anterior
cephalic setae present; aptera .........................................................B. indicus
Chao Zhao & Xiaoli Tong / ZooKeys 636: 67–75 (2016)
74
3 Antenna 8-segmented (suture between segments VII and VIII complete) ... 4
– Antenna 7-segmented; except for epimeral setae, pronotum also having a pair
of well-developed midlateral setae; macroptera or brachyptera .... B. minutus
4 Head with a wedge-shaped reticulation extending from median to the pos-
terior margin; the mesoacrotergite is strongly constricted medially (Figs 7,
11); abdominal tergite I divided into ve plates (Fig. 14); the width of mem-
branous gap (Fig. 12) between ovispan is approximately 1/3 of the posterior
margin of abdominal sternite IX; macroptera ................... B. cuneatus sp. n.
– Head reticulate just medially; the mesoacrotergite is not constricted medi-
ally; abdominal tergite I entire; the membranous gap between the ovispan is
reduced to a longitudinal narrow cleft; macroptera or aptera ......................5
5 ree pairs of ocelli present, lateral ocelli placed close to eyes; basantra seem-
ingly absent; macroptera .............................................................B. murphyi
– Ocelli absent; basantra weakly developed; aptera ....................B. ryukyuensis
Acknowledgements
is study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(31372236) and the Key Project for National Groundwork of Science & Technology
(No.2013FY111500-5-3). We especially wish to acknowledge Zhaohong Wang, Zhi-
wei Li, Jun Wang, and Shulan Yang for collecting the specimens. anks are also due
to the referees for their advice and constructive comments.
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