BY H. H. KAENT. 267 



It is a very interesting fact, that the thrips-galls of Australia belong fre- 

 quently to highly specialised types, similar to those of the European Cynipidae, 

 whilst in the tropics (e.g. in Java) only leaf-rolls caused by tlirips are known. 



From Australia there have been recorded only three species of Thysanoptera 

 which form hard tumors on the phylloclades of Acacia, communicating with the 

 outside by a narrow split. Mr. Froggatt described, in 1906, such a gall caused 

 by Kladothrips rugosus (Agric. Gaz. N.S.W., Misc. Publ. No. 1,025, Plate, fig. 

 5), very remarkable by its rough surface. Similar galls, but with a more or 

 less smooth surface, were described later by the author (Centralbl. Bakteriol, ii. 

 Abt., XXX., 1911, pp. 564, 570; Oncothrips tepperi) and by Hardy (Proc. Roy. 

 Soc.'Tasm., 1915, p. 102; Oncothrips rodwayi*). 



Onychothrips tepperi (Uzel, Act. Soc. Ent. Bohem., ii., 4, 1905; Karny, I.e.) 

 finally forms roundish, subspherical galls on the thinnest twigs of Acacia mheura. 

 But there is no gall hitherto recorded of the remarkable type discovered by Mr. 

 Froggatt and here described. 



In these galls are to be found many specimens of a Tubuliferous thrips, 

 which proved to represent a new genus. I name it on account of some remark- 

 able morphological characters and of its curious galls. 



Thaumatothrips, n.gen. 



Head not distinctly longer than prothorax, but considerably longer than 

 wide, broadest near the eyes. Cheeks slightly converging backwards, finely 

 granulated, set with some short, stiff hairs, but without spines. Antennae some- 

 what longer than head. Mouth-cone short, broadly rounded, with short and thick 

 palpi. Prothorax very large, behind more than twice as wide as in front, with 

 very long bristles. Fore-legs very large; their femora considerably longer than 

 head, and nearly half as wide as long; in both sexes with a few teeth on the 

 inner margin. Fore-tibiae short and very stout, widened to the end, on the 

 inner apex with a sharp, but not protruding angle, lying close to the tarsus. 

 This with two sharp tooth-like processes, the larger of which is longer than the 

 whole tarsus itself. F'terothorax broader than long, with laterally protroding fore 

 angles. Wings, if present, not constricted near the middle. Tube very short 

 and thick, only slightly more than half as long as the head. 



This remarkable new genus comes by its large, scutiform prothorax and by 

 the form of fore-tibiae and tarsi into the subfamily Kladotliripinae (Karny, 

 Treubia, i., 4, 1921, pp. 227, 251). The sharp angle of the fore-tibia, however, 

 does not protrude tooth-Uke as in Onychothrips, but lies close to the tarsus, as in 

 Oncothrips. It may be disting-uished at once from all hitherto-known Klado- 

 thripinae, and also from some similar Trichothripinae and Cryptothripinae, byf 

 its greatly enlarged fore-femora, set with some teeth along the inner margin. 

 Such an armature of fore-legs was hitherto recorded only from some genera of 

 Macrothripinae {Machaiothrips, Ischyrothrips and Eulophothrips) ; from these, 

 Thaumatothrips differs by the cheeks not set with spines, but only with short 

 hairs, by the far smaller number of duplicated cilia on fore-wings, and by its 

 much shorter tube. 



Only one species known. 



•I am very obliged to Messrs. Hardy and Rodway, from whom I got material 

 of this interesting thrips and its galls. The species was originally described as a 

 Kladothrips , but it should perhaps rather belong to Oncothrips because the an- 

 tennae are 8-jointed — the two last joints closely united — and the other characters 

 also agree very well with Oncothrips. 



