Rhagovelia priori, , Lansbury, 1993

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 : 144

Rhagovelia priori subgroup

The R. priori subgroup contains a set of three relatively small species, with body lengths of 3.35 mm or less, and a ratio of body length to maximum width of less than 3.0. Females of this subgroup lack concavities or thinned sections on central portion of the connexival margins, and the female ventral abdomen has ventrites I–III flat, not tumescent, and lacking central depressions or transverse sulci on ventrites III or IV ( Figs. 208–211 ). As is typical of the R. papuensis group, the female abdominal morphology and setiferation is modified to varying degrees ( Figs. 242 , 248 , 254 ), and often useful for discrimination of individual species, whereas the morphology of the males, including the genitalia, is far more interspecifically similar ( Figs. 241 , 247 , 253 ). Therefore, it is often necessary to obtain a female specimen in order to make a confident species determination. Overall, the members of this subgroup appear to be a more basal and less differentiated stock from which the more distinctively modified species in the R. yela and R. loriae subgroups may have been derived.

The three included species, R. priori , R. dinga and R. suloga all occur on small, rocky upland streams ( Figs. 40 , 47 , 187 , 259 ), where they skate on flowing pools. The members of this subgroup in the EPCT occur on isolated Woodlark Island, and widely at middle and lower elevations in the Papuan Peninsula ( Figs. 240 , 266 ), although they are lacking in the southward flowing drainages of this peninsula from Port Moresby eastward, where members of the R. loriae subgroup occur instead. They are also absent from the D’Entecasteaux and Louisiade island groups.

Figures

FIGS. 203–208. Rhagovelia papuensis group, female ventral abdomen showing locations of depressions and patterns of setiferation. 203. Rhagovelia loriae n. sp.; specimen from New Guinea, Dorobisoro, CL 7260. 204. Rhagovelia guiagoila n. sp.; specimen from Basilaki Is., Kalawai River, CL 7294. 205. Rhagovelia basima n. sp.; specimen from Fergusson Is., Yaya River, CL 7178. 206. Rhagovelia elongata n. sp.; specimen from Goodenough Is., Matalamoia River, CL 7187. 207. Rhagovelia bwagabwaga n. sp.; specimen from Misima Is., Keyana Creek, CL 7206. 208. Rhagovelia priori n. sp.; specimen from New Guinea, Kofure River, CL 7304.

FIGS. 209–211. Rhagovelia papuensis group, female ventral abdomen showing locations of depressions and patterns of setiferation. 209. Rhagovelia suloga n. sp.; specimen from Woodlark Is., Suloga Peninsula, CL 7217. 210. Rhagovelia ivimkana n. sp.; specimen from New Guinea, Tekadu, CL 7157. 211. Rhagovelia dinga n. sp.; specimen from New Guinea, Kamiali, CL 7243.

FIGS. 241–246. Rhagovelia priori Lansbury, structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Tufi, Kofure River, CL 7304. 241. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 242. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 243. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 244. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 245. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 246. Male proctiger, dorsal view.

FIGS. 247–252. Rhagovelia dinga n. sp., structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Kamiali. 247. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 248. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 249. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 250. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 251. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 252. Male proctiger, dorsal view; 247–250 from rocky stream at Kamiali, CL 7243, 251 and 252 from Aleater River, CL 7241.

FIGS. 253–258. Rhagovelia suloga n. sp., structural details; specimens from Woodlark Is., stream on Suloga Peninsula, CL 7217. 253. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 254. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 255. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 256. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 257. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 258. Male proctiger, dorsal view.

FIG. 40. The midreach of the Kofure River upstream of its estuary, northwest of Tufi, Oro Prov., Papua New Guinea, CL 7304, type-locality for R. tufi n. sp. and habitat for R. priori Lansbury.

FIG. 47. Rocky tributary to middle Aleater River, Morobe Prov., Papua New Guinea, CL 7245, locality for R. bowutu n. sp.

FIG. 187. A small headwater tributary to the Yaniwe River near Tekadu, Morobe Prov., southern Papua New Guinea, CL 7157a, type-locality for R. tekadu n. sp. and habitat for R. ivimkana n. sp.

FIG. 259. Stream entering Suloga Harbor, Woodlark Is., Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, CL 7217, type-locality for R. suloga n. sp.

FIG. 240. Distributions of species in the R. yela subgroup in the Louisiade Islands, and R. suloga on Woodlark Island.

FIG. 266. Distributions of species in the R. priori and R. transbintuni subgroups on eastern New Guinea and adjacent islands.