Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body and legs yellow, abdominal tergites with paired pale brown shadings anterolaterally; antennal segment I white, II brown, III brownish yellow, IV–IX pale brown; fore wing very weakly shaded; tergite IX major setae pale and setaceous. Head with weak transverse anastomosing striae behind eyes not extending to ocellar region; ocellar setae III just within anterior margins of ocellar triangle; eyes without pigmented facets. Antennae 9-segmented; segment II with few or no microtrichia, III–IV with sense cone forked; VI weakly pedicellate; suture transverse between VI–VII. Pronotum with weak transverse lines, all setae small. Metascutum reticulate; median setae near anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Fore wings first vein with 9–10 setae basally, 2 setae medially, 2 setae distally; second vein with about 13 setae including 1–2 setae basal to vein fork; clavus with 5–6 marginal setae and one basal seta. Abdominal tergites III–VII with no sculpture medially; laterally with anastomosing striae but microtrichia scarcely developed; tergite VIII with long regular comb. Sternite VII median setae S1 far apart and distant from margin, S2 arising slightly anterior to margin (rarely at margin).
Male unknown.

Related species

The significance of A. exocarpoides is difficult to assess, and it may be merely a parthenogenetic form of A. exocarpi with setaceous rather than spatulate setae The females are particularly similar in structure to those of A. epacrida, despite the very different host-plant associations. There are 43 species of Anaphothrips known from Australia (Mound & Masumoto, 2009), out of a total of 86 species worldwide (ThripsWiki, 2020). Many of these species have the antennae clearly 9-segmented, others clearly have only 8 segments, but several species have an intermediate condition with segment VI bearing a partial and often oblique transverse suture.

Biological data

Feeding and breeding on the leaves of Exocarpos spp. [Santalaceae].

Distribution data

Recorded from Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Family name

THRIPIDAE - THRIPINAE

Species name

Anaphothrips exocarpoides Mound & Masumoto

Original name and synonyms

Anaphothrips exocarpoides Mound & Masumoto, 2009: 35.

References

Mound LA & Masumoto M (2009) Australian Thripinae of the Anaphothrips genus-group (Thysanoptera), with three new genera and thirty-three new species. Zootaxa 2042: 1–76. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2009/f/zt02042p076.pdf