Paravelia albotrimaculata ( Kirkaldy, 1899 )

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 : 282

Paravelia albotrimaculata ( Kirkaldy, 1899)

( Figs. 14–16 , 30 )

Velia albotrimaculata Kirkaldy, 1899: 505–506 (original description).

Velia albotrimaculata: Hungerford 1930b: 121 (redescription, illustration).

Paravelia albotrimaculata: Polhemus 1976: 512 (changed combination).

Paravelia albomatriculata [sic]: Polhemus 2014: 160 (incorrect subsequent spelling).

Supplemental description. Macropterous female HOLOTYPE: body length 8.20; maximum width 2.10. Head with a pair of convergent, impressed lines and a pair of rounded indentations posteriorly. Ocular setae present. Forewing basal macula concave basally. Pro- and mesoacetabula each with a rounded punctation on mesal surface. Meso- and metasterna centrally with two pairs of small tubercles on intersegmental region. Metasternum with posterior margin convex ( Fig. 15 ). Grasping comb absent from fore tibia. Middle tibia without row of elongate dark-brown trichobothria-like setae on posterior third. Hind tibia straight, not weakly sinuate. Intersegmental region between abdominal sterna II–III with a depression on each side of midline. Abdomen laterally with narrow, longitudinally impressed furrows. Gonocoxae shorter along commissure than exposed portion of proctiger when viewed ventrally ( Fig. 15 ). Lateral margin of gonocoxa without strong angle, evenly curved.

Discussion. This species was described from a macropterous female from Valencia, northern Venezuela. Hungerford (1930b), based on the holotype deposited in RBINS, presented a short redescription of this species, including illustrations of the dorsal habitus of the body and of the hind leg. This same author had considered P. albotrimaculata as a member of the P. inveruglas group (see Hungerford 1929). Polhemus et al. (2019) proposed the genus Altavelia to hold some species previously included in the P. inveruglas group, in addition to others described by them on the occasion. However, they kept P. albotrimaculata in the genus Paravelia due to inconsistency regarding some characteristics, such as the presence of maculae on the forewing ( Fig. 14 ), which are absent in all species of Altavelia . In the same paper, the authors also mentioned that P. albotrimaculata would be more closely related to three phytotelma-inhabiting species: P. loutoni Polhemus, 2014 , P. myersi (Hungerford, 1931) , and P. reclusa Polhemus, 2014 .

After examining the holotype of P. albotrimaculata , a distinct morphological similarity with P. loutoni became apparent. Both species share the general color of the body, including the broad, yellow annulation on the base of all femora, and the shape of the forewing maculae ( Figs. 14–16 , 17–18 ). Furthermore, body sizes are almost coincident, i.e. 8.20 in the female holotype of P. albotrimaculata and 8.30 in the female paratype of P. loutoni . However, P. albotrimaculata can be distinguished from P. loutoni by the following characteristics: the rounded punctations on the posterior lobe of the pronotum are smaller in size and more densely distributed; the pronotal apex ending at the apical margin of the forewing basal macula; the yellow annulation of the hind femur reaching the first spine of the posterior margin ( Fig. 14 ); the intersegmental region between abdominal sterna II–III with a depression on each side of the midline; the gonocoxae shorter along the commissure than the exposed portion of the proctiger when viewed ventrally ( Fig. 15 ); and the lateral margin of the gonocoxa without a strong angle, evenly curved; whereas in P. loutoni the rounded punctations on the posterior lobe of the pronotum are large and scattered; the pronotal apex extends posteriorly beyond the apical margin of the forewing basal macula ( Fig. 18 ); the yellow annulation of the hind femur does not reach the first spine of the posterior margin ( Fig. 17 ); the intersegmental region between abdominal sterna II–III does not have a depression on each side of the midline; the gonocoxae are longer along the commissure than the exposed portion of the proctiger when viewed ventrally ( Fig. 19 ); and the lateral margin of the gonocoxa is strongly angled.

Because P. albotrimaculata was described based only on the female holotype, until now its only known specimen, it is not possible to compare male characters between these two species. Field work near the type-locality of P. albotrimaculata in Venezuela is necessary in order to obtain male specimens and further compare it with P. loutoni .

Distribution and habitat. This species is recorded from the State of Carabobo, northern Venezuela ( Fig. 30 ). Although P. albotrimaculata is morphologically very similar to P. loutoni and P. reclusa , both of which inhabit water-filled bamboo internodes, its ecology is currently unknown, so concluding that it also occurs in such habitat is premature.

Published records. Venezuela: Carabobo ( Kirkaldy 1899).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE, ♀ macropterous ( RBINS), [ VENEZUELA, Carabobo], Valença [= Valencia ], Coll. Camille Van Volxem, Velia albotrimaculata Kirk. ♀ Type, 4864, Déterm. Kirkaldy.

Figures

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

FIGURES 14–16. Paravelia albotrimaculata (Kirkaldy). (14) Dorsal, (15) ventral, and (16) lateral habitus of female holotype (RBINS). Size bar = 1.00 mm and applies only to Figs. 14–15.

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.