Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstracts

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Sandrapsocus clarki, an unusual new genus and species of Elipsocidae (Insecta: Psocoptera) from the Bounty Islands

C. N. Smithers*

Sandrapsocus clarki gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta: Psocoptera: Elipsocidae) is described. It is the first psocopteran to be recorded from the Bounty Islands, 700 km east-south-east of New Zealand, where it is found on rocks among lichens and algae. It has several unusual features, including 9-segmented antennae and wing rudiments which are unique in being extended laterally in the horizontal plane. So far as is known the species is endemic to the Bounty Islands, which cover a total of only about 135 hectares, most of which must be unsuitable for Psocoptera. This small area probably carries the entire population of this remarkable species, making it clearly vulnerable to extinction by change in environmental factors.

Keywords  Sandrapsocus clarki; Bounty Islands; Insecta; Psocoptera; Elipsocidae

(c) Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand,

Volume 29, Number 2, June 1999, pp 159-164

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (391K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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