NAUCORIDAE LEACH, 1815

Sites, Robert W., 2022, Phylogeny and revised classification of the saucer bugs (Hemiptera: Nepomorpha: Naucoridae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195, pp. 1245-1286 : 1255-1256

FAMILY NAUCORIDAE LEACH, 1815

Type genus: Naucoris Geoffroy, 1762 .

Taxonomic history: The group was first proposed by Leach (1815) as Naucorida, an incorrect spelling of the family name. This and other family names placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Family-Group Names by Opinion 681 (1963) include Naucorides ( Fallén, 1814; see Štys & Jansson, 1988), Naucoridea ( Fieber, 1851), Naucoridi ( Acloque, 1897), Naucorini ( Costa, 1852) and Naucoriseae ( Fieber, 1851). The family has included Aphelocheirinae (e.g. Polhemus & Polhemus, 1988) and Potamocorinae ( Usinger, 1941) as subfamilies, although most recent authors have considered these to be distinct families related to Naucoridae in superfamily Naucoroidea . A largely unaccepted concept was proposed by De Carlo (1971) in which he split the family based on male and female reproductive structures into separate Old and New World families as Naucoridae and Pelocoridae, respectively; although the New World family name Limnocoridae was adopted in place of Pelocoridae because of the Principle of Priority (e.g. López Ruf, 1987).

Revised taxonomy: The family was found to be monophyletic here, thus no changes to the family level taxonomy are proposed. However, eight subfamilies ( Fig. 10 ) are now recognized as described below.

Diagnosis: Members of Naucoridae are mostly aquatic, generally flattened, ovate or slightly elongate and with retentorial forelegs ( Sites & Nichols, 1990). They can be similar in appearance to Belostomatidae , although substantially smaller and without the caudal respiratory tubes. More specifically, antennae usually are four-segmented and short; the labium is short, reaching only to near the fore coxae; the membrane of the hemelytra is without venation; the forefemur is usually greatly enlarged; the foretarsus is usually fixed and immobile with a single fixed pretarsal claw; the meso- and metatibiae and meso- and metatarsi usually are fringed with natatorial setae; metathoracic scent glands are ventral in adults and between abdominal terga 3 and 4 in nymphs; and the genital capsule is reflexed 180 ° so the aedeagus and parameres are directed anteriorly.

Comments: The family has been recognized since Štys & Jansson (1988) to have five subfamilies loosely defined by a few morphological features with uncertain reliability as being apomorphic and not homoplasious. A concurrent project to determine the evolutionary history of the most species-rich subfamily, Cryphocricinae , has resulted in the elevation of Ambrysini back to the subfamily rank as originally assigned by Usinger (1941). As such, six subfamilies are currently recognized ( Table 1 ) as was the case following Usinger (1941), China & Miller (1955, 1959) and La Rivers (1971). The taxonomic changes proposed here will increase the number of subfamilies to eight ( Table 2 ).

Figures

Figure 10. Habitus examples of each subfamily: Ambrysinae: Ambrysus signoreti (a), Cheirochelinae: Cheirochela thailandana (b), Cryphocricinae: Cryphocricos hungerfordi (c), Ilyocorinae: Ilyocoris cimicoides (d), Laccocorinae: Laccocoris limicola (e), Limnocorinae: Limnocoris inornatus (f), Macrocorinae subfam. nov.: Macrocoris flavicollis (g), Naucorinae: Naucoris scutellaris (Thailand) (h).