Rhagovelia tenuipes Champion, 1898

Moreira, F. F. F., Nessimian, J. L., Rúdio, J. A. & Salles, F. F., 2010, New species and new records of Veliidae from Espírito Santo State and adjacent Minas Gerais State, Brazil, with notes on nomenclature (Insecta: Heteroptera: Gerromorpha), Journal of Natural History 44 (45 - 46), pp. 2761-2801 : 2796

Rhagovelia tenuipes Champion, 1898

Species with wide distribution in the neotropics, being known from Mexico, the Antilles, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Brazil (PA, AM, MG, RJ), Ecuador and Peru ( Pereira and Melo 2007; Moreira and Ribeiro, 2009). It is recorded for the first time from Espírito Santo State.

In females a variation in the elevation of the abdominal connexiva was noted. According to Nieser and Polhemus (1999), these should be horizontal to slightly elevated, but in some females examined the connexiva were well elevated, which could lead to their erroneous identification as R. rivulosa Polhemus and Polhemus, 1985 , by strictly following the key presented in the same paper.

Examined material

Brazil: Espírito Santo – São Mateus, estrada BR-381, km 41, Nestor Gomes, Rio Tapuia [−18.68056 ◦ / −40.18241 ◦] , 9 February 2009, (N. Ferreira-Jr.): 1 apterous female. Sooretama, Rio Barra Seca [18 ◦ 57 ′ 52.1 ′′ S, 40 ◦ 7 ′ 37.3 ′′ W, 5 m asl] , 19 July 2008, (J.A. Rúdio and F.F. Salles): 3 apterous females. Sooretama, Reserva Biológica de Sooretama, Córrego Rodrigues [19 ◦ 1 ′ 36.6 ′′ S, 40 ◦ 13 ′ 39 ′′ W 44 m asl] , 15 July 2008, (J.A. Rúdio and F.F. Salles ): 5 apterous males, 2 apterous females ; 29 April 2009, (F.F.F. Moreira): 17 apterous males, 13 apterous females. Pancas, Córrego Bassani, Fazenda [−19.23566 ◦ / −40.84745 ◦, 111 m asl] , 29 March 2009, (F.F.F. Moreira): 2 apterous males, 17 apterous females. Pancas, Córrego São Luís , junto à ponte [−19.22948 ◦ / −40.81467 ◦, 94 m asl] , 28 March 2009, (F.F.F. Moreira): 1 macropterous male, 9 apterous males, 20 apterous females. Santa Leopoldina, Hospedaria Pau apique , 25 July 2008, (J.A. Rúdio and F.F. Salles ): 2 apterous males, 3 apterous females .