Identification of the urothripid Baenothrips asper (Bournier, 1963) (Tubulifera: Urothripidae)

Abstract

Baenothrips asper (Bournier, 1963), originally described from Angola, was subsequently reported from India and Taiwan. The identity of the Indian and the Taiwanese species with asper is doubtful, at least the Indian specimens seen by me are not conspecific with asper. Interpretation of the identity of the Asian material is complicated by the fact that specimens from Asia and Africa belong to different morphs. The Angolan material consists of macropterae, whereas the Indian and Taiwanese material reported in literature as asper comprised apterae. In the light of the discovery of many previously unknown structural landmarks in the Tubuliferan body architecture (Bhatti, 1998a-d), in order to enable the identification of asper and interpretation of the Asian populations, I here provide important structural details of asper based on a paratype female from Angola. At present it is best to restrict the name asper to the original African material. I suggest that the Indian material consists of at least two different species, which are not identical with asper. Further characters of Baenothrips moundi from Australia, B. ryukyuensis from Japan, and minutus from India are given to enable a better understanding of the structure and variation in species of Baenothrips. Sexual dimorphism in the number of long anterior head setae is noted in four species, erythrinus, minutus, moundi, and ryukyuensis, there being 3 pairs in female and two pairs in male. There are only two pairs of prominent anterior head setae in both sexes of indicus. The structure of ovipositor is described in Baenothrips moundi and ryukyuensis. The shape of subgenital plate differs in the two species, it is notched at middle in the former but not in the latter. These and many other structures are now used for the first time for species characterization in members of the Order Tubulifera.