Recognition data

Distinguishing features

Female macroptera. Body brown, legs paler with tibiae and tarsi almost yellow; antennal segments III–IV and basal half of V yellow, VI–VIII light brown; fore wing shaded medially and at base including clavus, but pale sub-basally and on apical quarter. Antennae 8-segmented, III–IV with long, simple sensorium; segment I with no dorso-apical setae. Head almost as long as wide, ocellar setae I absent; longitudinal ridge anterior to first ocellus; ocellar setae III shorter than length of an ocellus, arising within triangle; compound eyes with no pigmented facets; maxillary palps 2-segmented. Pronotum weakly trapezoidal, 2 pairs of posteroangular setae. Metanotum irregularly reticulate medially, median setae small, distant from anterior margin; campaniform sensilla present. Prosternal basantra with one pair of setae, ferna continuous medially; meso and metafurca without spinula; meta pre-episternum broad and band-like with one seta. Fore wing setae small, widely spaced, many cilia straight but some wavy; clavus with discal seta. Abdominal tergite I with no craspedum, II–VIII with broad, weakly lobed craspedum, campaniform sensilla close to posterior margin except on VIII; V–VIII with no sculpture between median campaniform sensilla; IX with 2 pairs of campaniform sensilla, median dorsal setae slender; X with split almost complete. Sternite II with 2 pairs of marginal setae, III–VI with 3 pairs and craspedum of 5 broad and overlapping lobes, VII with no craspedum medially, median setae arising just in front of margin.

Male macroptera. Similar to female, sternites III–VII with broad pore plate; tergite IX with pair of stout, thorn-like setae apparently fused into a single median process

Related and similar species

The genus Kranzithrips includes only a single species. The tergites with craspeda, and campaniform sensilla close to the posterior margin, are similar to those of Bregmatothrips, but the lack of dorso-apical setae on the first antennal segment, and the male with sternal pore plates and a pair of stout fused setae on tergite IX suggest these genera are not related. Moreover, the lack of ocellar setae pair I, as well as the character states of the male, suggest that this genus is not closely related to the Australian genera of grass thrips, Aliceathrips, Masamithrips and Monothrips.

Distribution data

General distribution

Known only from Australia

Australian distribution

Queensland.

Biological data

Life History

Feeding and breeding on leaves

Host plants

Native grasses (Poaceae)

Taxonomic data

Current valid name

Kranzithrips mareebai Mound

Original name and synonyms

• Kranzithrips mareebai Mound, 2011: 21

References

Mound LA. 2011. Grass-dependent Thysanoptera of the family Thripidae from Australia. Zootaxa 3064: 1–40. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt03064p040.pdf