Paravelia ameliae Rodrigues, Moreira & Morales, 2022

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 : 278-281

Paravelia ameliae Rodrigues, Moreira & Morales NEW SPECIES

( Figs. 1–13 , 30 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:96E3D944-6DCC-4849-B4CD-8C93B21DE1F5

Description: Macropterous male: HOLOTYPE ( Figs. 1–2 ), length 5.08; maximum width 1.77. PARATYPE (n = 1), length 5.24; maximum width 1.78.

Color. Head and most of pronotum dark-brown; apical portion of pronotum (posterior to humeral angle) lightbrown ( Fig. 1 ). Antennomeres I and II yellowish-brown, except apical region of II dark-brown; III and IV darkbrown, except basal region of III yellowish-brown. Labium dark-brown ventromedially, black distally. Forewing light-brown, with scattered dark-brown areas; veins pale-brown; a small, roughly ovate white macula near posterior margin of pronotum; another ovate, larger macula, centrally near wing apex ( Fig. 1 ). Acetabula and legs yellowishbrown; femora and tibiae each bearing a dark-brown, sometimes faint, annulation at mid-length, and another less evident, sometimes indistinct, at apical region. Abdominal laterotergites brown, with small, pale-yellow patches at each intersegmental suture; abdominal sterna with same patches laterally. Abdominal sterna dark-brown laterally, light-brown centrally, with darker band on region of insertion of lateral abdominal muscles ( Fig. 5 ).

Head. Short, declivant anteriorly, with weak impressed median line; pair of rounded indentations near mesal margins of eyes; black denticles absent; length 0.66, width 0.96; eye width 0.26. Ocular setae absent. Antenniferous tubercle wide and swollen. Antenna densely covered by golden pubescence and scattered long brown setae; antennomere I thicker than others, curved laterally; II slightly thicker than III and IV; III and IV subequal in width; IV filiform ( Fig. 1 ); length of antennomeres, I 0.84, II 0.68, III 0.74, IV 0.82.

Thorax. Pronotum long, completely covering meso- and metanota; covered by fine golden pubescence intermixed with elongate dark-brown setae; length along midline 2.10, maximum width 1.77; humeri raised; anterior lobe with row of rounded punctations adjacent to anterior margin, posterolaterally with faint, narrow, transverse, frosty pruinosity (better visualized on female in Fig. 3 ); posterior lobe covered by rounded punctations, these becoming larger towards apex, with a low carina along longitudinal midline and a small process at distal tip. Forewing reaching tip of abdomen, leaving only posterior portion of genital capsule exposed; with four closed cells; veins on basal half with elongate dark-brown setae. Proepimeron with two rows of rounded punctations. Mesepisternum with row of rounded punctations. Metapleuron with scattered rounded punctations. Mesoacetabulum with a rounded punctation on mesal surface. Prosternum with row of four rounded punctations anteriorly. Meso- and metasterna centrally with two pairs of small tubercles on intersegmental region. Metasternum with posterior margin convex.

Legs. Densely covered with short, appressed, pale setae, and elongate, golden setae. Fore tibia with grasping comb (0.96 mm long) occupying more than half of its length ( Fig. 6 ). Middle tibia with a row of elongate darkbrown trichobothria-like setae on posterior third, decreasing in size distally. Hind femur thicker than others and slightly dilated on posterior third, bearing a single row of 15 small spines on posterior margin ( Fig. 1 ). Hind tibia slightly clavate ( Fig. 2 ). Leg measurements as follows: fore leg, femur 1.27, tibia 1.31, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.10, 0.27, 0.41; middle leg, femur 1.76, tibia 1.89, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.09, 0.56, 0.45; hind leg, femur 2.00, tibia 2.48, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.10, 0.51, 0.46.

Abdomen. Lateral margins slightly constricted at mid-length. Laterotergites covered by golden pubescence and elongate brown setae, not elevated, without black denticles. Laterally, on region of insertion of lateral abdominal muscles, with narrow, roughly ovate or longitudinal furrows (= striae sensu Polhemus 2021). Sterna covered by fine golden pubescence and elongate pale-yellow setae, the latter concentrated on ventrolateral margins; sternum II compressed laterally; III unmodified; IV–VI weakly flattened on midline; VII with a pair of rounded bumps, with posterior margin evenly concave. Tergum VIII (= first genital segment in part of the literature) with elongate darkbrown setae dorsolaterally, without black denticles ( Figs. 8–10 ). Proctiger with elongate brown setae on apical third, without projections or spines ( Fig. 11 ). Paramere basally notched on dorsal surface, sinuous, with elongate golden setae and truncate apex ( Figs. 12–13 ).

Macropterous female. PARATYPES (n = 3), length 4.96–5.12 (mean = 5.02); maximum width (across humeral angles) 1.69–1.78 (mean = 1.75). Leg measurements as follows: fore leg, femur 1.17–1.19, tibia 1.18–1.26, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.05–0.07, 0.17–0.22, 0.28–0.37; middle leg, femur 1.38–1.54, tibia 1.48–1.62, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.08–0.09, 0.41–0.43, 0.42–0.43; hind leg, femur 1.67–1.83, tibia 2.01–2.10, tarsomeres 1–3, 0.10–0.16, 0.40–0.45, 0.43–0.44.

Similar to male in general structure and coloration ( Figs. 3–4 ), except as follows: grasping comb of fore tibia distinctly shorter, 0.17 mm long, occupying only a small apical portion of segment ( Fig. 7 ); hind femur without row of spines; hind tibia cylindrical, not clavate; lateral margins of abdomen not constricted at mid-length; posterior corner of laterotergite VII narrowly rounded to right-angled, not spinose; first gonocoxa without black denticles.

Distribution and habitat. This species is known only from the type locality in Putumayo Department, Amazonian region of Colombia ( Fig. 30 ). The specimens were collected on pools within the forest and a behavior of moving by small jumps was observed.

Diagnosis. The new species can be distinguished from congeners by the bicolored pronotum (dark-brown at basal two-thirds and light-brown posteriorly); the absence of distinct pruinosity or silvery patches on the anterior lobe of the pronotum; the basal macula of the forewing small and roughly ovate ( Figs. 1, 3 ); the grasping comb of the male fore tibia occupying more than half of the length of this segment ( Fig. 6 ); the male hind femur with a row of 15 spines on the basal two-thirds ( Fig. 1 ); and the paramere notched basally on the dorsal surface ( Figs. 12–13 ). Furthermore, this species exhibits sexual dimorphism in the body shape and in the hind tibial length, with males having a slightly constricted mid-abdominal region ( Fig. 1 ) and a hind tibia that is distinctly longer than in females (2.48–2.58 in males, 2.01–2.10 in females).

Comparative notes. Comparing this species with its presumed closest relative within Paravelia is difficult, mainly due to the absence of phylogenetic studies among the species of the genus. The new species described here does not have ocular setae, a characteristic shared with the genera Callivelia , Platyvelia , and Steinovelia . However, P. ameliae n. sp. lacks other diagnostic features of these genera. Two other features present in the new species are shared with its bromeliad-inhabiting congeners, namely P. bachmanni Rodrigues & Moreira, 2016 , P. bromelicola Rodrigues & Moreira, 2016 , P. gabrielae Moreira & Barbosa, 2011 , P. helenae ( Hungerford, 1929) , P. itatiayana (Drake, 1951) , P. manausana Polhemus & Polhemus, 1984 , and P. recens (Drake & Harris, 1935) : (1) the small posterior projection of the midline of the pronotum, and (2) the male hind tibia clavate. Since the bromeliadicolus species have some other characteristics absent in P. ameliae n. sp., such as the ocular setae, we believe that these two features probably evolved independently. In addition to differences in morphology, individuals of the new species were collected on pools, while the bromeliad-inhabiting species are restricted to the water pockets stored by the plants.

Currently, only one species of Paravelia is recorded from Colombia: P. recens . The others species previously recorded from the country were all transferred to the genus Altavelia (see Polhemus et al. 2019). The new species is easily separated from P. recens and all the other species of the genus based on the diagnostic characters mentioned above. Future phylogenetic studies may provide evidence of the species or lineage closest to this new species.

Etymology. The new species is named in honor of Amelia Carvajal Morales, daughter of the last author of the present work.

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE, ♂ macropterous (UPTC-In-24507), COLOMBIA, Putumayo, Puerto Asis, Vereda Santa Maralto, Canaguchal , 250 msnm, 26.XI.2019, Col. Cárdenas, J. PARATYPES: 1♀ macropterous (UPTC-In-24508), 2♀ macropterous, 1♂ macropterous (UPTC-In-24509), same data as holotype .

Figures

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

FIGURES 1–4. Paravelia ameliae n. sp. (1) Dorsal and (2) ventral habitus of male holotype (UPTC). (3) Dorsal and (4) ventral habitus of female paratype (UPTC). Size bars = 1.00 mm.

FIGURES 5–7. Paravelia ameliae n. sp. (5) Lateral habitus of male holotype, (6) fore femur and tibia of male holotype, showing grasping comb, (7) lateral habitus of female paratype. Size bar = 1.00 mm and applies only to Figs. 5 and 7.

FIGURES 8–13. Paravelia ameliae n. sp. (8–10) Abdominal tergum VIII of male, (8) dorsal view, (9) ventral view, (10) lateral view. (11) Proctiger of male, dorsal view. (12) Genital capsule of male, lateral view (proctiger removed). (13) Paramere at a slightly different angle than in Fig. 12.