Rhagovelia aureospicata Lansbury

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 : 201-204

Rhagovelia aureospicata Lansbury

( Figs. 331–336 )

Rhagovelia aureospicata Lansbury, 1993: 41 . Type-locality: Kokoda, Northern Prov., Papua New Guinea.

Material Examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Morobe Prov.: 5 wingless males, 6 wingless females, 11 immatures, Namie Creek along Mt. Kaindi road, above Wau , 1650 m, [7°19’57”S, 146°01’09”E], 17 September 1983, CL 1829, D. A. Polhemus & J. T. Polhemus ( USNM ex JTPC, BPBM); 2 wingless males, upper Poverty Creek on Mt. Missim, near Wau, 1600 m., 18 September 1983, CL 1830, D. A. Polhemus & J. T. Polhemus ( BPBM) .

Redescription.

Wingless male: Size: Length = 4.30–4.80 (x = 4.57, n = 4); width = 1.40–1.60 (x = 1.50, n = 4). Wingless female, length = 4.15–4.30 (x = 4.24, n = 5); width = 1.50–1.60 (x = 1.57, n = 5).

Color: Dorsal ground color dark brown, marked with dark yellow to orange-brown on basal antennae, anterior pronotum, central section of mesonotum, connexiva and basal legs ( Fig. 331 ). Head black; lower frons and tylus brown, jugae and rostrum dark yellow, rostrum fuscous ventromedially, piceous distally; eyes dark silvery. Pronotum dark yellow on anterior half, this yellowish coloration continuing laterally as a continuous band onto the propleurae, posterior half black. Mesonotum broadly dark brown posterolaterally, narrowly dark orange-brown anteromedially, this orange coloration in the form of a broad triangle with the apex directed posteriorly. Metanotum and abdominal tergites I–IV uniformly dark blackish-brown, tergites V–VII mostly dark blackish-brown, but slightly suffused with orange-brown to varying degrees centrally; all abdominal tergites uniformly dull and overlain with short appressed gold setae, lacking shining areas; connexiva dark blackish-brown on inner halves, orange-brown on outer halves, ventral faces dark yellow. Antennal segment I with basal one-third dark yellow, distal two-thirds plus all of segments II–IV black. Legs generally black dorsally, dark brown ventrally, with coxae, trochanters, basal half of fore femur, ventral face of hind femur orange-brown. Venter orange-brown, with metasternum, abdominal ventrites I–IV, posterior margin of ventrite VIII darker brown.

Structural characters: Head moderately short, declivant anteriorly, with weakly impressed median line; length 0.50, width 1.00; length of eye along inner margin 0.45, anterior/posterior interocular space, 0.30/0.55. Pronotum short, length along midline 0.40, less than dorsal length of head, leaving mesonotum broadly exposed, width 1.25; mesonotum smooth, lacking deep foveae, humeri depressed, length 0.70. Metanotum barely exposed, length 0.15. Lengths of abdominal tergites I–VIII, respectively: 0.25: 0.30: 0.25: 0.25: 0.25: 0.30: 0.60: 0.50. Connexiva with margins of even width throughout, straight, gradually convergent posteriorly, posterolateral angles not modified, separated by entire width of tergite VIII, bearing sparse tufts of long dark setae.

Entire dorsum and laterotergites except for broad area in middle of pronotum, anteromedial mesonotum, and outer halves of connexiva thickly covered with fine appressed golden pubescence, intermixed with a few longer, semi-recumbent black setae laterally on thorax; legs and antennae thickly clothed with short appressed golden setae, with scattered long, erect, bristly black setae on anterodorsal faces of antennal segments I and II, and anterior margins of all femora, plus long, slender, widely spaced brown setae along posterior margins of all femora; 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 slightly flattened ventrally on distal half, longitudinally channeled adjacent to grasping comb, this comb extending for one-quarter length of tibia; middle femur bearing 5–6 short, thorn-like black spinules basally on along posterior margin ( Fig. 333 ); hind trochanter bearing 12–14 small dark pegs ventrally; hind femur highly incrassate, bearing two parallel rows of teeth, ventral row lying in area covered by infolded hind tibia and consisting of approximately 22 tiny, closely appressed black pegs running from base of femur to one-third distance to apex, followed by a large, acutely pointed orange-brown tooth with a black apex, then 3 much smaller teeth of progressively declining size, then 10 tiny black pegs continuing to apex; dorsal row commencing on distal third of femur and consisting of two large, sharp orange-brown teeth with black apices, followed by 5 similar but progressively smaller teeth continuing to apex ( Fig. 334 ); hind tibia broadly and gently sinuate, inner surface bearing a longitudinal row of about 14 small dark teeth on basal two thirds, followed by a large, acute, dark tooth at approximately two-thirds distance from base, followed by 5 similar black teeth of progressively declining size to apex ( Fig. 334 ).

Venter of head and thorax lacking small black denticles; mesosternum slightly depressed centrally, margins of this depression bearing long, fine gold setae; metasternum roughly transverse-rectangular, slightly raised and bearing fine golden setae centrally; abdominal venter set with short appressed gold setae intermixed with scattered long, fine, erect dark brown setae centrally; basal abdominal ventrites highly sculptured, ventrite I lying in vertical orientation, remaining ventrites horizontal and all in similar plane, ventrite II with a strongly raised longitudinal carina medially, this carina continuing in less pronounced form onto ventrites III and IV; ventrites V and VI unmodified; VII broadly longitudinally sulcate medially, lateral margins bordering this sulcus longitudinally tumescent, bearing posteriorly-directed gold setae; ventrite VIII strongly transversely constricted basally, posterior margin raised, directed downward.

Male paramere thick, moderately elongate, bearing stout setae ventrally on basal half, dorsal margin weakly bisinuate, ventral margin broadly and shallowly concave, apex slightly expanded, blunt, broadly curving ( Fig. 335 ). Male proctiger with basolateral lobes well developed, apices bearing small, posteriorly-directed, angular processes; distolateral lobes slightly developed, rounded; distal cone short, with lateral margins slightly tapering and convergent posteriorly, apex broadly rounded, blunt ( Fig. 336 ).

Lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.90: 0.60: 0.95: 0.75.

Lengths of leg segments as follows: femur, tibia, tarsal 1, tarsal 2 of fore leg, 1.30: 1:40: 0.03: 0.05: 0.30; of middle leg, 2.25: 1.75: 0.10: 0.80: 0.95; of hind leg, 2.25: 2.15: 0.10: 0.20: 0.50.

Wingless female: Similar to wingless male in general structure and coloration, with following exceptions: abdominal tergites I–VIII matte black around margins with broad orange-brown patches centrally, these patches slightly raised along longitudinal midlines of tergites III and IV; tergite VIII angled downward; connexival margins gradually and evenly convergent posteriorly, posterolateral angles widely separated, leaving all tergites visible in dorsal view ( Fig. 332 ), posterolateral angles gently rounded in lateral view, lacking setal tufts; abdominal ventrite I very short, ventrites II–VII larger, subequal in size, horizontal, ventrites III–VI slightly flattened centrally, ventrite VII bearing a pair (1+1) of dense tufts of short, posteriorly-directed black setae laterally on either side of longitudinal midline; gonocoxae partially retracted into segment VII; proctiger angled downward at over 45° angle; hind femur only weakly incrassate, bearing only 3 small dark teeth on posterior third, these teeth of progressively decreasing size distally; hind tibia straight, inner surface lacking teeth; ventral coloration predominantly dark yellow, with anterior and posterior metasternum plus abdominal ventrite I transversely marked with dark brown.

Winged female: Unknown.

Winged male: Unknown.

Distribution. Based on current collections this species is distributed on the northeastern flanks of the Owen Stanley Range, from Kokoda to Wau, at elevations above 1000 m. The species range as presently known occupies the Morobe Highands area of freshwater endemism (Area 22) as delineated by D. Polhemus & Allen (2007).

Discussion. The short row of 5–6 thorn-like black spinules along the posterior margin of the hind femur ( Fig. 333 ) will separate this species from any other in the EPCT region. The female is distinctive in having a pair (1+1) of dense tufts of short, posteriorly-directed black setae laterally to either side of longitudinal midline on abdominal ventrite VII. The male paramere is relatively simple, having an “bean shape” similar to that seen in the members of the R. papuensis group, except inverted, with the dorsal rather than the ventral margin concave ( Fig. 335 ), and lacks the lamellate distal expansion typical of species in the R. novacaledonica group.

Ecological notes. Rhagovelia aureospicata appears to prefer rocky upland streams at elevations above 1500 m. The series from Namie Creek (CL 1829) was taken from a shallow, rocky creek swiftly descending through upland rain forest and crossing the Mt. Kaindi road above Wau. The series from upper Povery Creek (CL 1830) came from a small, shaded stream flowing through a bed of rocks and gravel in intact upland rain forest, with waterfalls both upstream and downstream.

Figures

FIGS. 331–336. Rhagovelia aureospicata n. sp., structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Wau, upper Namie Creek, CL 1829. 331. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 332. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 333. Male middle femur, ventral view, showing set of stout spines basally. 334. Male left hind femur, dorsal view. 335. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 336. Male proctiger, dorsal view.