Paravelia loutoni Polhemus, 2014

Rodrigues, Higor D. D., Moreira, Felipe Ferraz Figueiredo & Morales, Irina, 2022, New species and notes on Paravelia Breddin, 1898 (Heteroptera: Veliidae) from South America, Zootaxa 5162 (3), pp. 277-289 : 283-285

Paravelia loutoni Polhemus, 2014

( Figs. 17–20 , 30 )

Paravelia loutoni Polhemus, 2014: 152–154 (original description).

Supplemental description. Macropterous female: posterior region of head with a pair of faint, narrow, convergent, impressed lines between impressed median line and rounded posterior indentations ( Fig. 18 ). Ocular setae present. Forewing basal macula concave basally ( Figs. 17–18 ). Grasping comb absent from fore tibia. Metasternum with posterior margin convex. Middle tibia without row of elongate dark-brown trichobothria-like setae on posterior third. Intersegmental region between abdominal sterna II–III without depression on each side of midline ( Fig. 20 ). Abdomen laterally with narrow, longitudinally impressed furrows. Gonocoxae longer along the commissure than exposed portion of proctiger when viewed ventrally ( Fig. 19 ). Lateral margin of gonocoxa strongly angled.

Discussion. Polhemus (2014) conjectured the hypothesis of a subgroup within Paravelia formed by four species: P. loutoni , P. reclusa , P. atra (Polhemus, 1969) , and P. myersi . This subgroup was based on the body length ranging from 5.8–8.2 mm, body length-to-width ratios ranging from 2.94–3.46, and in the similarity of the forewing maculae pattern ( Polhemus 2014). Furthermore, according to the same author, these species are probably restricted to phytotelmata, where P. loutoni and P. reclusa inhabit water-filled bamboo internodes, and P. myersi inhabits water-filled treeholes. The ecology of P. atra is unknown, but due to the morphological similarity between it and P. myersi , there is a possibility that it is also an inhabitant of waters accumulated in treeholes. The same occurs with P. albotrimaculata , another species with an unknown ecology, which is a possible inhabitant of waters accumulated in bamboo internodes due to the morphological similarity with P. loutoni .

Polhemus (2014), in the original description of P. loutoni , compared it with P. myersi (Hungerford, 1931) , where he mentioned that both species are similar in overall appearance and body form, but that they can be separated by the structure of the male paramere. After examining material from these two species, we were able to easily separate them by other characteristics. In P. loutoni , the fourth antennomere is distinctly lighter than the others ( Fig. 17 ); the eyes are further away from the posterior margin of the head; the pronotum has frosty pubescence on the anterior lobe and on the anterior half of the posterior lobe; the posterior margin of the pronotum is tapered, with a triangular-shaped apex; the basal macula of the forewing is concave basally ( Fig. 18 ); and each femur has a yellow annulation at the basal third ( Fig. 17 ); whereas in P. myersi the fourth antennomere is concolorous with the others; the eyes are arranged closer to the posterior margin of the head; the pronotum has only a small area with frosty pubescence between the anterior and posterior lobes; the posterior margin of the pronotum is rounded; the forewing basal macula is roughly rounded; and each femur has homogeneous coloration, with the basal half slightly lighter and no basal annulations.

Distribution and habitat. This species is recorded from the Department of Cuzco, central-southern region of Peru ( Fig. 30 ). Individuals live in water-filled bamboo internodes ( Polhemus 2014).

Published records. Peru: Cuzco ( Polhemus 2014).

Material examined. PARATYPE, ♀ macropterous ( BPBM), PERU, Cuzco, San Martin, Shell Oil gas drill site, Urubamba Valley , 490 m, 11°46’53”S, 72°42’06”W, in bamboo, 20 February 1997, J. Louton .

Figures

FIGURE 30. Distribution records of five species of Paravelia in South America.

FIGURES 17–20. Paravelia loutoni Polhemus. (17) Dorsal habitus of female paratype (BPBM), (18) dorsal view of head, pronotum, and basal region of forewing, (19) terminal abdominal sterna of female, (20) ventral view of female abdomen. Size bar = 1.00 mm and applies only to Fig. 17.