Rhamphothrips laterocurvidentatus, Sujith & Rachana & Hegde & Vanitha, 2025

Rhamphothrips laterocurvidentatus sp. nov.

( Figs 1–10 View FIGURES 1–6 View FIGURES 7–10 )

Female macroptera. Body uniform yellow ( Fig. 1 View FIGURES 1–6 ); antennal segments I–III pale yellow, IV–V brown with base pale yellow, VI–VIII uniformly brown; legs golden yellow; forewing slightly shaded. Antennal segment II without microtrichia, III–VI with microtrichia, III–IV pedicellate with forked sense cones reaching half the length of succeeding segment, sub equal in length and longest, VI with three simple sense cones, one small and the others long and slender, reaching up to the base of VIII ( Fig. 2 View FIGURES 1–6 ). Length to width ratio of antennal segments I–VIII as follows: 0.7–0.8, 1.4–1.5, 3.1–3.3, 2.8–3.1, 2.5–3.0, 3.2–3.4, 2.0 and 5.0. Head with 0.4–0.5 times as long as wide, sculptured with transverse striae below compound eyes, cheeks moderately rounded ( Fig. 4 View FIGURES 1–6 ); mouth cone elongate, beak like reaching up to the posterior margin of pronotum. Only single ocellar seta I present, ocellar setae pair III almost at tangent of anterior margin of hind ocelli, lesser than longitudinal diameter of hind ocelli; postocular setae 5 pairs, small. Pronotum 1.07–1.1 times as long as wide, surface smooth except for a few transverse lines near anterior and posterior margins, 3.55–3.75 times as long as median length of head, 7 pairs of posteriomarginal setae ( Fig. 3 View FIGURES 1–6 ). Mesonotum and metanotum without spinula. Mesonotum with transverse anastomosing striae, campaniform sensilla present anteriomedially ( Fig. 5 View FIGURES 1–6 ); mesosternum with 3 setae on lateral margin. Metanotum sculptured with longitudinal striations, median setae arising behind anterior margin, campaniform sensilla present. Barb like projections present within prosternal ferna ( Fig. 9 View FIGURES 7–10 ). Forewing first vein with 3 distal setae, second vein with 4 setae; clavus with 5 veinal and 1discal setae ( Fig. 6 View FIGURES 1–6 ). Fore femur 75–87.5 microns wide; fore tibia with one stout spine arising apically on small projection and one strongly curved tooth arising lateral to spine on the apical margin ( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 7–10 ). Abdominal tergite I striate uniformly, S1 setae minute; tergite II with 4 lateral marginal setae, anteriormost seta small on pleurotergite; tergites II–VIII smooth medially, sculptured with transverse striae restricted laterally to S2 ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 7–10 ); tergites VI–VII with S4 setae reduced; tergites VI–VIII with microtrichial rows anteriolaterally; tergites II–VII with broad craspedum; tergite IX with anterior and posterior pairs of campaniform sensilla, S1, S2, S3 and mid-dorsal setae each 1.6–1.7, 2.3–2.5, 1.6–1.8 and 0.65–0.69 times as long as median length of tergum; tergite X with S1 and S2 setae 1.55–1.75 times and 1.4–1.6 times as long as tergite median length; median split almost complete ( Fig. 7 View FIGURES 7–10 ); sternite VII with setae S1 rudimentary and S2 well developed, S1 just reaching the setal base of S2 ( Fig. 10 View FIGURES 7–10 ); S1 and S2 setae measuring around 7.50–10 and 35–37.50 microns, respectively; sternites without discal setae.

Measurements ( holotype female in microns). Distended body length 1100. Head length 50, width across cheeks 115. Pronotal median length 177, width 162. Fore wing length 612. Abdominal tergite IX median length 72, tergite X length 65. Antennal segments I–VIII length (width) as follows: 20 (22.5), 32 (22.5), 47 (15), 45(16.25), 37 (12.5), 40 (12.5), 10 (5), 12.5 (2.50).

Male. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype female, INDIA, Karnataka, Chikkamagaluru, Sringeri, collected on leaves of Streblus sp. ( Moraceae ), 7.iii.2025 (Sujith, K. M.) ( ICAR / NBAIR / THYS /07032025). Paratypes: 4 females collected together with the holotype. Holotype and paratypes deposited in the National Insect Museum, National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources ( ICAR-NBAIR), Bengaluru, India.

Etymology. The species name laterocurvidentatus , meaning “tooth curved sideways’’, refers to the very prominent curved tooth on the apical margin of the foretibia.

Comments. This new species is compared with other members of the genus that possess a rudimentary pair of S1 setae and a well-developed pair of S2 on the female abdominal sternite VII, namely R. aureus ( Ananthakrishnan, 1954) , R. parviceps ( Hood, 1919) , R. santokhi Kulshrestha & Vijay Veer, 1984 , and R. yunnanensis Li et al. 2021 . It can be differentiated from aureus and yunnanensis by the following characters: pronotum 3.5–3.75 times as long as the head in female (4.06 times in aureus and 2.78 times in yunnanensis ), one strongly curved tooth at the apical margin of the foretibia (two small teeth/tubercles in both the species), fore femora 75–87.5 microns wide (60–70 microns in both), four lateral marginal setae on abdominal tergite II (three lateral marginal setae in both), and a very long mouth cone reaching up to the posterior margin of the prothorax (not beyond 3/4 th of the pronotum length in both). The new species is easily separable from parviceps and santokhi based on the diagnostic key provided above.

The other two Indian species with which the new species shares the character of having a single tooth at the apex of foretibia are R. pardus ( Bhatti, 1967) and R. jasminae ( Bhatti, 1977) . However, the new species can be easily distinguished from both of these species based on the diagnostic key given above.