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 : 145-148

Rhagovelia priori Lansbury

( Figs. 40 , 208 , 241–246 , 266 )

Rhagovelia priori, Lansbury, 1993: 29 . Type-locality: Popondetta, Ambogo Plantation, Northern Prov., Papua New Guinea.

Material examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, New Guinea, Northern (Oro) Prov. : 5 wingless males, 1 wingless female, Boikiki , 26 July 1985, J. Ismay ( BPBM) ; 7 winged males, 6 winged females, 45 wingless males, 32 wingless females, Kofure River, W. of Tufi , 0– 45 m., 9°04'58"S, 149°16'39"E., water temp. 28° C., 24–25 January 2004, 11:30–13:30 hrs. (24 January) and 09:30–14:00 hrs. (25 January), in pockets along margins of main river channel, CL 7304a, D. A. and J. T. Polhemus ( USNM, BPBM) ; 1 winged male, 2 winged females, 7 wingless males, 3 wingless females, New Guinea , same data as preceding except at base of bedrock wall along main river channel, CL 7304b, D. A. and J. T. Polhemus ( USNM, BPBM) ; 14 wingless males, 11 wingless females, New Guinea , same data as preceding except from tributary with waterfall, CL 7304c, D. A. and J. T. Polhemus ( USNM, BPBM) .

Redescription

Wingless male: Size: Length = 3.05–3.20 mm (x = 3.37, n = 4); width 1.10–1.15 mm (x = 1.11, n = 4). Wingless female, length = 3.25–3.30 mm (x = 3.28, n = 4), width = 1.20–1.30 (x = 1.24, n = 4). Winged male, length = 3.80 mm (n = 1); width = 1.30 mm (n = 1). Winged female, length = 3.60–3.70 mm (x = 3.65, n = 2); width = 1.35–1.40 mm (x = 1.37, n = 2).

Color: Dorsal ground color black, marked with pale orange on anterior pronotum and connexiva, pale yellow on basal antennae and legs ( Fig. 241 ). Head black, frons dark brown, tylus pale brown, jugae dark yellow; rostrum yellowish-brown, piceous distally; eyes dark reddish black, omatidia silvery. Pronotum yellowish-orange on anterior one-third, black on posterior two-thirds, the pale anterior coloration overlain with faint silvery pruinosity and extending laterally and ventrally onto propleurae. Mesonotum, metanotum and abdominal tergites I–VI and VIII black, dull, lacking shining areas; tergite VII shining, black, with small dark orange patch centrally on anterior half; connexiva black on inner halves, dark orange on outer halves. Antennal segment I with basal one-third pale whitish yellow, distal half plus all of segments II–IV dark brown. Legs generally dark blackish-brown, with coxae, trochanters, basal two-thirds of fore femur, basal one-quarter of hind femur ventrally pale yellowish-white. Venter orange-brown, propleurae, prosternum, and all acetabula pale yellowish; abdominal ventrites VII–IX yellowish-brown.

Structural characters: Head moderately short, declivant anteriorly, with weakly impressed median line; length 0.30, width 0.78; length of eye along inner margin 0.35, anterior/posterior interocular space, 0.20/0.40. Pronotum long, lacking foveae, width 1.00, length along midline 0.80, greater than dorsal length of head, leaving mesonotum barely exposed as only a small, thin crescent behind posterior margin; metanotum moderately exposed, length at midline 0.15. Lengths of abdominal tergites I–VIII, respectively: 0.20: 0.20: 0.20: 0.20: 0.20: 0.25: 0.35: 0.35. Connexiva with margins of even width throughout, nearly straight and evenly convergent posteriorly, posterolateral angles not modified, separated by entire width of tergite VIII.

Entire dorsum and laterotergites covered with fine, appressed golden pubescence, intermixed with scattered slightly longer, semi-recumbent golden setae on abdomen; legs and antennae thickly clothed with short, appressed, pale setae, with scattered longer, thicker, erect black setae on anterodorsal faces of antennal segments I and II, anterior margins of all femora, anterior margin of hind tibia; fore femur with 2 rows of slender, moderately long, evenly spaced black setae on along ventral margin; fore tibia with long, slender, slightly curving setae along anterior margin, intermixed with a thick fringe of moderately long, semi-recumbent pale setae; middle femur with single row of long, slender, evenly spaced black setae on along ventral margin, lengths of these setae equal to width of femur; 2 rows of long, fine, slender, pale brown setae present along posterior margin of hind femur flanking central peg rows; middle and posterior tibiae with scattered short erect black setae along anterior margins; fore and middle trochanters lacking pegs or teeth; fore femur with dorsal margin straight, not concave or depressed centrally; fore tibia slightly expanded and ventrally flattened on distal half; middle femora and tibiae with margins straight, not flattened or otherwise modified; hind trochanter bearing 5 small dark pegs ventrally, the distal two pegs larger, darker, more prominent; hind femur incrassate, bearing two rows of teeth in area covered by infolded hind tibia, consisting of approximately 14 tiny black pegs in a single irregular longitudinal row on basal half of femur, followed by a dorsal row consisting of three sharp, dark teeth of progressively increasing size, then a single large, tapering tooth about two-thirds distance to femoral apex, followed distally by a 4 much smaller teeth of progressively decreasing size, and a ventral row consisting of 6 moderelately small teeth originating near middle of femur and gradually decreasing in size distally; hind tibia straight, inner surface bearing single row of about 15 small dark teeth of subequal size ( Fig. 243, 244 ).

Venter of head and thorax with numerous small black denticles on jugae and inner faces of proacetabula adjoining rostrum; mesosternum with shallow, roughly triangular depression centrally, margins of this depression and adjacent lateral metasternum bearing long, fine gold setae; metasternum weakly tumescent centrally; abdominal venter set with short appressed gold setae; basal abdominal ventrites highly sculptured, ventrite I lying in vertical orientation, remaining ventrites horizontal and all in similar plane, ventrite II with acute longitudinal median carina of V-shaped cross section, this carina extending in gradually diminishing form onto ventrites III and IV, ventrites V and VI unmodified, ventrite VII broadly and shallowly depressed centrally, ventrite VIII sharply longitudinally carinate on basal half.

Male paramere moderately small, bean-shaped, bearing stout setae on distal half, dorsal margin of apex slightly angular ( Fig. 245 ). Male proctiger with basolateral lobes well developed, narrowly rounded; distolateral lobes moderately well developed, broadly rounded; distal cone dome-shaped, apex blunt ( Fig. 246 ).

Lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.75: 0.45: 0.55: 0.50.

Lengths of leg segments as follows: femur, tibia, tarsal 1, tarsal 2 of fore leg, 0.90: 0.95: 0.01: 0.02: 0.20; of middle leg, 1.50: 1.40: 0.05: 0.55: 0.65; of hind leg, 1.35: 1.25: 0.05: 0.10: 0.20.

Wingless female: Similar to wingless male in general structure and coloration, with following exceptions: abdomen with tergites V–VII shining centrally; connexival margins strongly convergent posteriorly adjacent to abdominal tergites I–IV, then gradually convergent adjacent to tergites V–VIII, posterior apices meeting over posterior half of tergite VII and base of tergite VIII, these portions of tergites not visible from above, connexival margins adjacent to tergite IV narrowed, glabrous ( Fig. 242 ); posterolateral connexival apices forming sharp, upward-angling points when viewed laterally, bearing small, tapering, posteriorly-directed tufts of short black setae; abdominal tergite VIII with lateral margins raised, bearing brushy tufts of stiff black setae; proctiger deflected downward approximately 45° from vertical, lacking tufts of black setae laterally; hind femur only weakly incrassate, posterior margin bearing a small black tooth at about two-thirds distance from the base, followed by a larger, acuminate golden-brown tooth with black apex, followed by 5 much smaller black teeth of progressively decreasing size distally; hind tibia straight, inner surface lacking teeth or pegs; ventral coloration orange-brown with metasternum and abdominal ventrite I darker, lower propeurae and all acetabula pale yellowish; all abdominal ventrites lying in similar horizontal plane, ventrites IV-VII flattened centrally (compare Fig. 208 ).

Winged male: Similar to wingless male in general structure and coloration, with following exceptions: pronotum greatly enlarged, width 1.30, length 1.30, completely covering meso- and metanotum, anterior lobe orange-brown, this coloration broadly confluent with similar coloration on propleurae; humeri enlarged, slightly protrusive laterally; posterior pronotal lobe black, broadly domed, posterior half with obscure dark foveae, posterior margin broadly angular; forewings uniformly dark blackish-brown, wing apices extending past apex of abdomen when intact, bearing 4 closed cells consisting of two elongate cells in basal half of wing followed by two smaller cells distally near center of wing, with outer cell sligthly smaller than inner.

Winged female: Similar to winged female in general body form and coloration, pronotum width 1.40, length 1.30.

Distribution. Southeastern New Guinea (Papuan Peninsula) ( Fig. 266 ). The species range as presently known occupies the Popondetta Foreland area of freshwater endemism (Area 32) as delineated by D. Polhemus & Allen (2007).

Discussion. Rhagovelia priori is a small, dark colored species occurring in the northern coastal lowlands and premontane foreland of the Papuan Peninsula. Lansbury (1993) described the species from several sets of specimens taken on streams in the vicinity of Popondetta, comparing it to R. papuensis Lundblad , which occurs in the northern coastal ranges of New Guinea and on New Britain. Based on subsequent collections, R. priori now appears most similar to R. dinga n. sp. from the Bowutu Mountains at Kamiali. It may be distinguished from R. dinga by the structure of the female abdominal connexiva, with the posterior angles coming to points in R. priori when viewed laterally, versus right angles in R. dinga , and the connexiva meeting posteriorly over the top of abdominal tergite VII in R. priori , but not touching in R. dinga (compare Figs. 242 , 248 ). Abdominal tergite VIII in R. priori also has its lateral margins raised, and bears brushy tufts of stiff black setae. These setal tufts are variable in expression, being denser and more fully developed in some specimens than in others. The female proctiger in R. priori is posteriorly elongate, and projects further beyond tergite VIII than in R. dinga , and the female ventral abdomen in R. priori has small black denticles only on the posterior half of ventrite VI and sparsely posterolaterally on ventrite V, whereas such denticles are present in moderate density on ventrites II–VI in R. dinga . Denticles are also present on the metacetabulae in R. priori , but absent there in R. dinga .

Males of R. priori and R. dinga are similar in general appearance (compare Figs. 241 , 247 ), but the pattern of spines on the male hind femur will separate the two species. In R. priori there is a set of small spines basally, a large spine centrally, and then a set of spines of gradually decreasing size onward distally to the femoral apex ( Fig. 244 ). By contrast, in R. dinga the basal two-thirds of the femur bears a row of small, peg-like spines, which branches distally into two parallel rows, each with a large spine at about two-thirds distance to the femoral apex followed by a cluster of moderate sized spines ( Fig. 250 ). The male proctigers of both species are rather similar, with angular basolateral lobes and rounded distolateral lobes (compare Figs. 246 , 252 ), but there are differences in paramere shape, with that of R. priori being shorter, stouter, and coming to a small angle distally on the dorsal margin, whereas the paramere of R. dinga is more elongate and bluntly rounded distally (compare Figs. 245 , 251 ).

Ecological notes. Rhagovelia priori occurred syntopically with R. tufi n. sp. on the Kofure River, near Tufi ( Fig. 40 ). For a more detailed description of the habitats at that locality see the ecological notes under the latter species.

Figures

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.

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. 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.

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

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.