Rhagovelia upalai, Polhemus, 2024

Polhemus, Dan A., 2024, Thirty-four new species of Rhagovelia (Heteroptera: Veliidae) from the East Papua Composite Terrane, far eastern New Guinea, Zootaxa 5400 (1), pp. 1-214 : 35-41

Rhagovelia upalai new species

( Figs. 19 , 55–62 )

Type material examined. Holotype, wingless male: PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Milne Bay Prov., New Guinea, Upalai River at Haluwia , 13.7 km. E. of Alotau on East Cape road, midreach and waterfall approx. 2.5 km. above mouth, 45–75 m., 10°19'39"S, 150°34'36"E, water temp. 24.5 °C., 5 April 2002, 09:45–16:30 hrs., CL 7163, D. A. & J. T. Polhemus ( BPBM) . Paratypes: PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Milne Bay Prov., New Guinea: 22 wingless males, 29 wingless females, same data as holotype, CL 7163, D. A. & J. T. Polhemus ( USNM); 2 wingless males, 1 wingless female, Upalai River at Haluwia , 8.5 mi. E. of Alotau on East Cape road, lower midreach, 0–30 m., 10°20'28"S, 150°34'23"E, water temp. 26–26.5° C., 4 April 2002, 09:30–12:00 hrs., CL 7162, D. A. & J. T. Polhemus ( USNM) . Additional material examined (not paratypes): PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Milne Bay Prov.: 2 wingless males, 1 wingless female, Muguwe Creek, W. of Naura, 16 mi. W. of Alotau , 70 m., 10°17'20"S, 150°12'10"E, water temp. 25.5° C., 9 April 2002, 10:00–11:30 hrs., CL 7169, D. A. & J. T. Polhemus ( USNM) .

Description

Wingless male: Size: Length = 3.20–3.30 mm (x = 3.26, n = 5); width = 1.20–1.30 mm (x = 1.24, n = 5). Wingless female, length = 3.45–3.60 mm (x = 3.51, n = 5); width = 1.30–1.40 mm, (x = 1.36, n = 5).

Coloration: Dorsal ground color black, sparingly marked with dark yellow to orange-brown on basal antennae, anterior pronotum, and extreme basal femora ( Fig. 55 ). Head black, tylus dark brown, jugae and basal rostrum medium brown, rostrum fuscous ventromedially, piceous distally; eyes dark red. Pronotum black, with a transversely ovate dark orange-brown patch anteromedially behind vertex, this orange-brown coloration bounded by black laterally and not extending downward onto the propleurae, overlain with faint silvery pruinosity. Mesonotum, metanotum and all abdominal tergites black, all abdominal tergites uniformly dull and lacking glabrous areas; connexiva uniformly black. Antennal segment I with basal one-fourth pale yellow, distal three-fourths plus all of segments II–IV black. Legs generally black dorsally, with coxae, fore and hind trochanters, extreme base of fore femur dark yellowish-brown. Venter including acetabula black overlain with faint greyish pruinosity, abdominal ventrites I–VI dull black, ventrites VII–IX semi-shining dark brown.

Structural characters: head moderately short, declivant anteriorly, with weakly impressed median line; length 0.30, width 0.75; length of eye along inner margin 0.30, anterior/posterior interocular space, 0.20/0.50. Pronotum short, width 1.00, length along midline 0.30, less than dorsal length of head, leaving mesonotum broadly exposed; mesonotum smooth, lacking deep foveae, humeri depressed, length 0.70. Metanotum barely exposed, length 0.10. Lengths of tergites I–VIII, respectively: 0.20: 0.20: 0.17: 0.15: 0.17: 0.23: 0.40: 0.35. Connexiva with margins of even width throughout, subparallel adjacent to abdominal tergites I–IV, than gradually convergent posteriorly adjacent to tergites V–VII, posterolateral angles not modified, separated by entire width of tergite VIII, bearing a few long, curving, dark setae.

Entire dorsum thickly covered with fine, appressed pale pubescence, intermixed with scattered longer, semi-erect black setae on lateral pronotum and mesonotum, and along posterior margins of all abdominal tergites; legs and antennae thickly clothed with short appressed pale setae, with scattered long, erect, bristly black setae on anterodorsal faces of antennal segments I and II, and anterior margins of all femora, regularly spaced long, slender, straight dark setae along posterior margins of fore and middle femora, and long pilose brown setae along posterior margin of hind femur, lengths of these long setae equal to or exceeding the thickness of the respective femora on which they occur; fore and middle trochanters lacking pegs or teeth; fore and middle femora and middle tibia with margins straight, not flattened or otherwise modified; fore tibia flattened ventrally, longitudinally channelled near apex adjacent to grasping comb; hind trochanter with a longitudinal row of 4 very small dark pegs ventrally; hind femur moderately incrassate, bearing two rows of teeth and pegs lying in area covered by infolded hind tibia, ventral row consisting of 10 very small, sharp black teeth of subequal size commencing at about two-thirds distance from the femoral base and running to the distal femoral apex, dorsal row consisting of 8–10 very small, black teeth running from base of femur to one-third distance from base, followed by a moderately large brown spine with a black tip, separated from another spine of similar size and coloration by a wide gap containing one very small black tooth, this second long spine followed by followed by 5 much smaller black spines of decreasing size running to distal femoral apex; hind tibia straight, inner surface bearing a single row of 16–18 small, stout black pegs ( Figs. 57, 58 ).

Venter of head with juga and adjacent propleura bearing numerous small black denticles; mesosternum slightly depressed centrally, margins of this depression bearing long, fine gold setae; metasternum broadly and gently tumid, with fine, erect pale setae laterally; abdominal venter set with short appressed pale setae intermixed with longer, fine, semi-erect pale setae laterally and posteromedially; basal abdominal ventrites highly sculptured, ventrite I lying in vertical orientation and bearing a small, rounded bump centrally, remaining ventrites horizontal and all in similar plane, ventrite II with a sharply raised, setiferous longitudinal carina medially, this carina continuing incipiently onto base of ventrite III, remainder of ventrites III and ventrites IV and V slightly swollen, unmodified, ventrite VI slightly flattened centrally, ventrite VII strongly depressed and concave centrally, lateral margins of this central depression strongly raised and thickly setiferous ( Fig. 19 ); ventrite VIII constricted basally.

Male genitalia with parameres folded upward and inward, apices nearly meeting over top of proctiger; paramere elongate, ventrally bilobate, basal section with ventral margin broadly rounded, middle portion slightly constricted, then distal section expanded, posterior margin broadly curving, apex acutely rounded ( Fig. 59 ). Proctiger with basolateral lobes well developed, apices rounded; distolateral lobes not developed; distal cone broadly triangular, apex blunt ( Fig. 60 ).

Lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.80: 0.40: 0.40: 0.45.

Lengths of leg segments as follows: femur, tibia, tarsal 1, tarsal 2, tarsal 3 of fore leg, 0.95: 0.95: 0.02: 0.02: 0.30; of middle leg, 1.50: 1.10: 0.10: 0.45: 0.85; of hind leg, 1.25: 1.30: 0.05: 0.20: 0.30.

Wingless female: Similar to wingless male in general structure and coloration, with following exceptions: long, semi-erect dark setae absent on posterior margins of abdominal tergites III–VII; abdominal tergites I and II slightly domed, tergites III and IV slightly raised along their longitudinal midlines, tergites III–VII dull grey and lacking evident setae; connexival margins convergent posteriorly, angled inward adjacent to abdominal tergites I–IV, then more gradually convergent adjacent to tergites V–VIII ( Fig. 56 ), posterolateral angles folded slightly inward over lateral portions of tergite VIII, bearing thick, angular tufts of moderately long, posteriorly-directed black setae at apices; abdominal tergite VIII and proctiger angled downward at 45°, proctiger elongate; ventral surface of middle tibia slightly flattened; hind trochanter lacking small black pegs; hind femur only weakly incrassate, area along ventral midline in area covered by infolded hind tibia bearing a single spine row consisting of a single moderately long, triangular, sharp black tooth basally arising at about two-thirds the distance to apex, followed by 4 much smaller spines of progressively decreasing size to femoral apex; hind tibia straight, inner surface lacking teeth; ventral coloration predominantly dull blackish-grey, abdominal sternites VII–IX semi-shining brown; jugum and proepisternum bearing numerous tiny black denticles; all abdominal ventrites lying in similar horizontal plane, posterior margin of abdominal sternite VII unmodified; commisure of first gonocoxae forming a sharply raised longitudinal ventral carina.

Winged male: Unknown.

Winged female: Unknown.

Etymology. The name “upalai ” is a noun in apposition and refers to the Upalai River type-locality near Alotau in eastern New Guinea.

Distribution. Southeastern New Guinea; endemic to the Papuan Peninsula ( Fig. 62 ). The species range as presently known occupies the South Papuan Peninsula Foreland area of freshwater endemism (Areas 30) as delineated by D. Polhemus & Allen (2007).

Discussion. This is a predominantly black-colored species occurring in the mountain foothills north of Milne Bay. The male genitalia are similar to those of R. obscura from the Mimani River basin further to the west, but the apex of the paramere is more rounded (compare Figs. 52 , 59 ), and the proctiger is shorter and broader, with the apex of the distal cone blunt rather than acutely produced (compare Figs. 53 , 60 ). Additional differences from R. obscura include the absence of shining patches on female abdominal tergites V–VIII, with these tergites uniformly dull black, rather than bearing shining chestnut brown patches centrally on tergites V–VIII as in R. obscura ; and male abdominal ventrite VII with a longitudinally rectangular depression centrally, with the lateral margins flanking this depression strongly raised and bearing dense pads of short, golden-brown setae which become thicker posteriorly ( Fig. 19 ), contrasting with the character state in R. obscura in which ventrite VII bears a deep, crescent-shaped depression centrally, with this depressed area becoming broader and deeper posteriorly, and with its lateral margins flanked by setiferous arcuate ridges ( Fig. 18 ).

Females of this species have the connexival margins convergent posteriorly, angling inward adjacent to abdominal tergites I–IV, then more gradually convergent adjacent to tergites V–VIII, with the posterolateral angles folded slightly inward over the lateral portions of tergite VIII ( Fig. 56 ), and bearing thick, angular tufts of moderately long, posteriorly-directed black setae at their apices. The female hind femur bears a single spine row consisting of a single moderately long, triangular, sharp black tooth basally arising at about two-thirds distance to apex, followed by 4 much smaller spines of progressively decreasing size to the femoral apex.

A short series of specimens from Muguwe Creek, in the Owen Stanley Mountains west of Alotau, appears to represent this species, having males similar to those from the type-locality, but with a female in which the terminal connexiva are less infolded and bear more prominent setal tufts. As a result, these specimens are not treated as paratypes.

Ecological notes. The Upalai River at the type-locality was a clear, rocky stream flowing through a shady, forested, steep-sided valley. Rhagovelia upalai was found here between 30–70 m elevation, along a reach extending upstream from the head of the estuary to the base of a waterfall approximately 20 m high that halted further progress ( Fig. 61 ). The stream’s bed profile had a gradually increasing gradient as one moved upstream, consisting of alternating riffles and pools, in a mixed bed of gravel, cobble, rocks, and boulders, intermixed with occasional exposures of bedrock. The stream channel was partially shaded by a canopy of mostly undisturbed lowland rain forest.

Rhagovelia upalai is apparently confined to the mountains on the north side of Milne Bay, since collections in similar habitats in the Pini Range and Cloudy Mountains south of the bay, although rich in Rhagovelia , did not produce this species.

Figures

FIGS. 16–19. Species of the Rhagovelia tufi subgroup, male terminal abdomen, ventral view, showing structural variation on ventrites VII and VIII. 16. R. tufi n. sp., specimen from New Guinea, Kofure River, CL 7304; 17. R. bowutu n. sp., specimen from New Guinea, Kamiali, CL 7243; 18. R. obscura n. sp., specimen from New Guinea, Dorobisoro, CL 7264; 19. R. upalai n. sp., specimen from New Guinea, Alotau, CL 7163.

FIGS. 55–60. Rhagovelia upalai n. sp., structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Alotau, Upalai River, CL 7163. 55. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 56. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 57. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 58. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 59. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 60. Male proctiger, dorsal view.

FIG. 61. The upper midreach and waterfall along the Upalai River, east of Alotau, Milne Bay Prov., Papua New Guinea, CL 7163, type-locality for R. upalai n. sp., and habitat for R. peninsularis n. sp. and R. loriae n. sp.

FIG. 62. Distributions of species in the R. tufi subgroup and R. aviavi n. sp. in eastern New Guinea.

FIGS. 48–53. Rhagovelia obscura n. sp., structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Dorobisoro, Mimani River tributary, CL 7264. 48. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 49. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 50. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 51. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 52. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 53. Male proctiger, dorsal view.