Generic diagnosis

Female macropterous or micropterous. Head longer than wide, projecting in front of eyes; maxillary palps 3-segmented; eyes without pigmented facets; ocellar setae I absent, III longer than II; five pairs of unusually long postocular setae, II and IV posterior to row. Antennae 7-segmented, segment I without paired dorso-apical setae, III and IV with forked sense cones; III–VI with microtrichia on both surfaces. Pronotum wider than long, with two pairs of well-developed posteroangular setae. Mesonotum with median setae near middle; anterior campaniform sensilla present. Metanotum with weak reticulation medially, median setae behind anterior margin; campaniform sensilla absent. Fore wing (if present) first vein with wide gap, 8–9 basal setae and 4 distal setae; second vein with complete row; clavus with 3(5) veinal and one discal setae; posteromarginal fringe cilia wavy. Prosternal ferna usually undivided; basantra membranous and without setae. Mesosternum and metasternum endofurca both without spinula. Tarsi 2-segmented. Tergites without ctenidia or craspeda, setae S3 to S5 on tergites III–V arranged in a straight line, S4 posterior to S5; tergite VIII with almost complete comb; IX with anterior campaniform sensilla present; X with median split complete. Sternites without discal setae, III–VII with three pairs of posteromarginal setae, II with two pairs.

Biological data

Nothing is known of the biology, but the species is possibly associated with grasses.

Distribution data

Described from a single female collected in northern India, this species has also been taken in Sichuan and Yunnan, China.

Nomenclatural data

Smilothrips Bhatti, 1976: 324. Type species Smilothrips productus Bhatti, 1976, by monotypy.

The single species that is recognised in this genus (ThripsWiki, 2018) is also recorded from China:

productus Bhatti, 1976: 325.

Relationship data

Thripidae sub-family Thripinae: this is a diverse group involving more than 230 genera. Although similar in appearance to species of Taeniothrips, the single species in Smilothrips is unusual in lacking a spinula on both the meso and metafurca, and in having the head projecting in front of the eyes and bearing a series of unusually long postocular setae.

References

Mirab-balou, M.Yang, S. Tong, X. 2013. A newly recorded genus Smilothrips Bhatti (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in China. Entomotaxonomia 35: 179–184.

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