Rhagovelia springerae Moreira, Pacheco-Chaves & Cordeiro

Moreira, Felipe Ferraz Figueiredo, Pacheco-Chaves, Bernald, Springer, Monika & Cordeiro, Isabelle Da Rocha Silva, 2015, Two new species of Rhagovelia (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) from Costa Rica, with a key and new records from the country, Zootaxa 3980 (4), pp. 477-500 : 485-487

Rhagovelia springerae Moreira, Pacheco-Chaves & Cordeiro sp. nov.

( Figs. 9–14 , 29 )

Apterous male ( Fig. 9 , Table 6 ). Head black. Antenniferous tubercles, clypeus and eyes brown. Antennomere I with basal ca. half pale yellow; remainder of antenna brown, except yellow intersegmental pieces. Buccula yellow. Rostrum with article I yellowish brown, II orange-brown, III dark brown, IV black. Pronotum black with two orange patches anteriorly and circular punctations throughout length. Sides and venter of thorax grayish black. Abdominal tergites black. Connexiva black with orange-brown on lateral margin. Abdominal sternites grayish black. Genitalia brown, covered by setae dorsally; ventrally orange-brown. All coxae and trochanters yellow. Fore femur yellow basally, dark brown apically; mid femur dark brown dorsally, brown ventrally; hind femur dark brown, lighter basally. Fore tibia dark brown dorsally, brown ventrally; mid and hind tibiae and all tarsi dark brown.

Head short, wide, velvety, covered by short brown setae and longer, thicker, black setae. Antenna covered by short setae, articles I–II also with long setae. Antennomere I curved outside, narrow on base, stout on apex; II–III cylindrical, IV fusiform. Jugum, proepisternum and proacetabulae with black denticles ( Fig. 10 ). Rostrum reaching middle of mesosternum.

Pronotum completely covering mesonotum, with longitudinal median carina weakly developed (better observed on wet specimen). Mesosternum with two oblique carinae covered by long setae. Meso- and metasterna with sparse black denticles, obscured by the dark body color.

Abdominal tergites and sternites covered by brown setae; sternites also with black denticles in center, obscured by the dark body color. Longitudinal median carina on visible sternites I–III, weak on III ( Fig. 11 ). Deep depression centrally on visible sternites V–VII, sharply on VI–VII ( Fig. 11 ). Robust black denticles absent from posterolateral margins of last abdominal segment surrounding genital cavity. Proctiger as in Fig. 12 . Parameres symmetrical, shape as in Fig. 13 .

Legs covered by short, brown setae, with erect, black setae on femora and tibiae. Coxae granulose. Venter of fore trochanter distally with tuft of setae ( Fig. 10 ). Fore tibia widening apically. Mid femur narrowing apically. Hind trochanter unarmed ( Fig. 11 ). Hind femur stout, without spines on proximal 1/3; distal 2/3 with dorsal row of 9–11 spines decreasing in size ( Fig. 14 ) and ventral row of 4–5 short spines. Hind tibia with two irregular rows of short spines, two slightly displaced spines close to apex, and a straight apical spur ( Fig. 14 ).

Type material. COSTA RICA: Alajuela —Upala, Canalete, Achiote River, desfogue, VIII.2010, (F. Reyes & P. Gutiérrez): 1 apterous male [HOLOTYPE] ( MZUCR). Guanacaste —Cañas, site 2, below confluence, dam, EsIA south channel, 47 m a.s.l., VII.2010, (B. Pacheco & D. Vásquez): 1 apterous male [PARATYPE] ( DZRJ).

Distribution. Despite the extensive collecting effort in Costa Rica, only two representatives of this species have been found, both collected in the northern portion of the country ( Fig. 29 ).

Etymology. Named in honor of MSc. Monika Springer for her great contributions to the aquatic entomology in Costa Rica.

Comments. Rhagovelia springerae sp. nov. belongs to the robusta group sensu Polhemus (1997), based on the pronotum of apterous forms completely covering the mesonotum, the posterolateral margins of the last abdominal segment surrounding the genital cavity without robust black spines, the hind tibia with a straight apical spur, and by the shape of the male parameres.

In the key to the species of the group provided by Polhemus (1997), R. springerae sp. nov. runs to R. zeteki Drake, 1953 , known from Colombia and Panama. However, the new species can be differentiated from it by the brownish coloration of the lateral margins of the connexiva; central depression on male visible abdominal sternites V–VII; the tuft of long, stout setae on the distal portion of the fore trochanter; the absence of small spines on the basal 1/3 of hind femur; and by the shape of the male parameres and proctiger. Rhagovelia springerae sp. nov. also can be distinguished from other species of the group known from Costa Rica by the characters mentioned in the key below.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 14. Rhagovelia springerae sp. nov. 9. Apterous male, dorsal view. 10. Male head and part of thorax, ventral view, white arrow shows area with black denticles. 11. Male abdomen, ventral view. 12. Male proctiger. 13. Male paramere, lateral view. 14. Male left hind leg, ventral view. Scale bar = 1.00 mm.

FIGURES 28 & 29. Geographical distribution of the collecting localities of Rhagovelia in Costa Rica. 28. Rhagovelia angustipes, R. danpolhemi sp. nov., R. calopa, R. spinosa, R. tenuipes, and R. tantilla. 29. R. springerae sp. nov.

Tables

TABLE 6. Descriptive measurements of apterous males of Rhagovelia springerae sp. nov.

Structure	Specimen 1	Specimen 2
BL	3.03 (genitalia removed)	3.50 (genitalia not removed)
HL	0.39	0.36
HW	0.84	0.87
ANT I	0.75	0.81
ANT II	0.45	0.45
ANT III	-	0.42
ANT IV	-	0.45
EYE	0.27	0.30
PL	0.96	0.96
PW	1.15	1.15
FEM	0.90	0.90
TIB	0.93	0.87
TAR I	0.05	0.04
TAR II	0.04	0.05
TAR III	0.21	0.28
FEM	1.57	1.51
TIB	1.12	1.09
TAR I	0.08	0.07
TAR II	0.52	0.53
TAR III	0.74	0.73
FEM	1.39	1.40
TIB	1.21	1.18
TAR I	0.06	0.05
TAR II	0.13	0.11
TAR III	0.34	0.34