A new species of Tylothrips (Insecta: Thysanoptera) with new records of four terebrantians and four tubuliferans from Manipur, northeastern India

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to express gratitude to the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi for financial support. The encouragement and permission given by the authorities of Manipur University and Department of Forest, Govt. of Manipur to undertake this research are gratefully acknowledged. Abstract: A survey carried out for thrips (Thysanoptera) at the Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur and at Manipur University campus, within the Indo-Burma hotspot region of northeastern India revealed the occurrence of Anaphothrips incertus (Girault), Mycterothrips auratus Wang, Bamboosiella hartwigi (Pitkin), Euphysothrips minozzii Bagnall, Mycterothrips ricini (Shumsheer), Dolichothrips citripes (Bagnall), Xylaplothrips flavitibia Ananthakrishnan & Jagadish and X. inquilinus Priesner. The occurrence of the first three species in India and the remaining five species in northeastern India is reported for the first time through the present study. In addition, a new species, Tylothrips samirseni sp. nov. is described.

Thrips have gained importance by virtue of their occurrence in diverse forms like pollinators, gall makers, pests, vectors of tospovirus, as well as predators on other pests (Mound 2005). Out of nearly 6000 species of thrips listed in the world fauna (ThripsWiki -referred on 11 February 2015), about 700 species were recorded from the Indian subcontinent (Sen 1998). There are about 200 species of thrips belonging to 102 genera in the biodiversity rich Indo-Burma hotspot region (Varatharajan 2005). The present study reports eight more species, a first time recording of three species from India and five species from northeastern India and a new species namely Tylothrips samirseni sp. nov.

Materials and Methods
Thrips were collected from the Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), Manipur and also from Manipur University campus (23 0 83'-25 0 68'N & 93 0 03'-94 0 78'E, 770m). The collected thrips were preserved in the collection fluid with 10% ethanol (90ml) + glacial acetic acid (10ml) + triton-X (0.1ml). The specimens were then treated with 10% NaOH solution, washed, dehydrated and finally mounted in Canada balsam as permanent slides with the use of stereo binocular microscope Magnus MS 24 model. Subsequently, they were identified with the help of Olympus microscope CX31 model by following the standard taxonomic keys available for thrips of the Indian subcontinent (Ananthakrishnan & Sen 1980). The camera lucida drawings of Tylothrips samirseni sp. nov. were made using the Olympus OIC, no. 04527 and all the measurements were given in micrometers (µ). Additional information about thrips identity was obtained from relevant papers of Okajima (1995), Palmer et al. (1989), Masumoto & Okajima (2006) and Mound & Masumoto (2009). Based on the literature cited above, all the newly recorded eight specimens were identified. As it is difficult to compare and study these species with that of voucher specimens of foreign countries, the taxonomic characters and valid keys published by the respective authors were used in the present study. The identified specimens were then deposited in the insect museum of the Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University.

Mycterothrips auratus Wang, 1999 (Image 2)
Mycterothrips auratus Wang, 1999, Chinese Journal of Entomology 19: 229-238 Mycterothrips auratus Masumoto & Okajima, 2006, Zootaxa 1261 Diagnostic characters: Body uniformly yellowishbrown. Head with cheeks straight. Antennal segment II with some rows of microtrichia, VI widest at the middle and tapering in distal half. Male with antennal segment VI much longer than that of female. Pronotum with about 50 discalseate. Mesonotum with a pair of median setae placed near the posterior margin. Metascutum with a pair of median setae near the anterior margin, close to the submedian setae. Numerous microtrichia along the lines of sculpture in abdominal terga II to VII. B4 setae on abdominal terga minute gradually.

Tylothrips Hood, 1937
A new species of thrips belonging to the genus Tylothrips (Images 9,10 & Fig. 1) was collected from KLNP. Its morphological characters are as follows: head slightly produced in front of eyes; vertex narrowly produced between antennae.
Mouthcone short broadly rounded. Anteromarginals short, anteroangular and posteroangular setae well developed, blunt to expanded at tip; all setae from tubercles. Posterior half of epimeron fused with pronotum. Foretarsi armed in both sexes; all foretibiae alone with a series of setae bearing tubercles (Hood 1937;Sen et al. 1988). Further, members of this genus also have a pair of long expanded setae ventro-laterally on the metathorax (Mound 1977). The genus consists of 23 species, of which one is from India and the rest from the New World (Mound & Marullo 1996). Tylothrips indicus Sen & Muraleedharan (1976) was the first species reported from Meghalaya, northeastern India. The description given below on Tylothrips samirseni sp. nov. is the second species of this genus reported from KLNP, Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hot spot areas of northeastern India.

Male macroptera
Body bicolorous; II & III abdominal segments, all tibiae & tarsi yellow in colour and rest of the body brown in colour. Antennal segments I, II, VII & VIII completely brown, IV, V & VI yellow proximally & brown distally, III yellow. Antennal segments pedicellate, pedicel of antennal segment III crenulate. Major setae of the body generally pale yellow in colour except the wing retaining setae and terminal setae of tube brown in colour. Internal pigmentation bright crimson red, more abundant in the thorax. Head slightly produced, distinctly incised at the posterior margin of the eyes; head longer than wide; distance between the post ocular setae greater than the length of the setae; ocular setae dilated at apex; maxillary palpi short and two segmented; maxillary stylets oculad; frontal margin of the median ocellus lying ahead of the frontal margin of the eyes; prothorax shorter than head; pronotum wider than long; epimeral suture complete; anteromarginal setae short; epimeral suture complete; epimeral setae longer than posteroangular setae; pterothorax long; foretibiae with several tubercles and moderately long and pointed setae; foretarsi with pointed tooth with its tip directed towards the median plane of the body. Forewings pale grey in colour with two double fringes; forewings not broad but slightly narrowed at the middle with a median streak; sub-basal setae sub-equal and dilated at apex, disposed symmetrically. Metathorax with a pair of well developed dilated ventrolateral setae; pelta-urn shaped. Abdomen without distinct sculpture; major setae on the abdomen pointed in nature; setae on the IX abdominal segment and terminal setae pointed; sides of the tube straight and gradually tapering towards the apex.

Etymology
This species is named after Shri. Samir Sen, an eminent zoologist (Retired) from the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

Comments
Tylothrips samirseni sp. nov. differs from T. indicus in the following characters. In T. indicus, maxillary stylets are mesad; postocular 1.5 times longer than eyes; anteroangulars wanting; fore tibiae with 10-11 setae on the inner margin; no double fringes; B1-B3 on IX abdominal segment knobbed; basal wing setae I shorter than II and III and tube setae shorter than tube. On other hand, in the new species, T. samirseni, maxillary stylets oculad; postocular and eye length subequal; anteroangular setae well developed; foretibiae with five setae on the inner margin; forwings with two double fringes; B1-B3 setae on IX abdominal setae pointed; all the basal wing setae almost sub-equal and tube setae longer than tube.