Rhagovelia peggiae

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 : 88

Rhagovelia peggiae subgroup

The R. peggiae subgroup contains two moderate sized species, R. peggiae Kirkaldy and R. hirsuta Lansbury , with body lengths ranging from 3.55–4.30 mm, which occur on the southern and northern sides of the Papuan Peninsula respectively. The ground color in both species is dark grey to blackish, with very limited dark yellow or orange-brown markings on the anterior pronotum and narrowly along the connexival margins ( Figs. 140, 141 , 146, 147 ). The pale coloration on the anterior pronotum is confined to a small transverse patch behind the vertex, which is not confluent with similar pale coloration on the propleurae, and the female connexiva in both species are convergent posteriorly, touching at their apices ( Figs. 141 , 147 ). The male proctiger has large and laterally projecting basolateral lobes, whereas the distolateral lobes are incipient or absent, and the distal cone bears a small, nipple-shaped process at the apex ( Figs. 144 , 151 ). The male paramere shape is variable, being typical of the R. novacaledonica group in R. hirsuta ( Fig. 150 ), but distinctively angled upward and truncate in R. peggiae ( Fig. 143 ). These species generally occur on rocky first and second order streams at elevations between 500 and 1300 m ( Fig. 145 ), but can occasionally be washed down to lower elevations by river spates. Neither is particularly common or widespread, therefore it is interesting that they are among the few Rhagovelia previously described from the EPCT.

Figures

FIGS. 140–144. Rhagovelia peggiae Kirkaldy, structural details; specimens from Dorobisoro, Papua New Guinea. 140. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 141. Wingless female, dorsal habitus 127. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 128. Male left hind leg, ventral view; 140–142 from tributary to Mimani River, CL 7262. 143. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 144. Male proctiger, dorsal view; 143–144 from tributary to Mimani River, CL 7263.

FIGS. 146–151. Rhagovelia hirsuta Lansbury, structural details; specimens from New Guinea, Morobe Prov., Kamiali, CL 7241. 146. Wingless male, dorsal habitus. 147. Wingless female, dorsal habitus. 148. Male right hind leg, posterior view. 149. Male right hind leg, dorsal view. 150. Male left paramere, outer lateral view. 151. Male proctiger, dorsal view.

FIG. 145. Tributary to the upper Mimani River, near Dorobisoro, Central Province, Papua New Guinea, CL 7262, habitat for R. peggiae Kirkaldy, R. mimani n. sp., and R. loriae n. sp.