Generic diagnosis

Moderate-sized Phlaeothripinae with body and legs strongly reticulate. Head with eyes globular or reduced to few facets; genae sharply constricted behind eyes, parallel or weakly constricted to base; postocular setae with apices expanded; paired postocellar and mid-dorsal setae present; maxillary stylets wide apart. Antennae 8-segmented, III with 3, 2 or 0 sense cones, IV with 3 sense cones; VIII constricted at base. Pronotum with 5 pairs of major setae, all capitate and usually short. Prosternal basantra usually weak or absent, ferna well-developed; mesopresternum varying, complete, reduced to two triangles, or absent; metathoracic sternopleural sutures absent. Fore tarsus usually without tooth in both sexes but these are present in dammermanni. Usually micropterous; if wings present then duplicated cilia absent. Pelta variable among species, usually transversely oval but sometimes with short lateral wings; tergites II–VII with 2 pairs of sigmoid wing-retaining setae present or absent; posteromarginal setal pair and posteroangular pair with apices broadly expanded; tergite IX setae S1 and S2 about 0.7 as long as tube with apices capitate; tube shorter than head, anal setae short. Male sternite VIII without pore plate.

Nomenclatural data

Mystrothrips Priesner, 1949: 117. Type species Sagenothrips dammermanni Priesner 1933, by monotypy.

There are 12 species recognised in this genus, with four recorded from Australia (ThripsWiki, 2022).

Australian species
Mystrothrips brachystylis Mound & Tree, 2018: 349
Mystrothrips dammermani (Priesner, 1933: 75)
Mystrothrips nomadus Mound & Tree, 2018: 353
Mystrothrips reteanum Shin & Woo, 1999: 111

Relationship data

This Phlaeothripinae genus is considered a member of a weakly diagnosed group of leaf-litter species that has been referred to as the Glyptothripini with most species from the Neotropics.

Distribution data

Eleven of the species in this genus are from southeast Asia or Australia, but the twelth is from Brazil. In Australia, species have been found mainly in eastern Queensland, but with one species in the hills behind Canberra.

Biological data

The species of this genus are all fungus-feeding in leaf-litter.

References

Mound LA & Tree DJ (2018) Asia-Australia distribution patterns among species of Mystrothrips (Thysanoptera, Phlaeothripinae), with two new species. Zootaxa 4526 (3): 347–357.

ThripsWiki (2022) ThripsWiki - providing information on the World's thrips. Available from: http://thrips.info/wiki/ (Accessed 15.iii.2022)