Naboandelus bergevini popovi Brown, 1951

Cianferoni, Fabio, Saleem, Rukhshanda, Afsheen, Sumera & Zia, Ahmed, 2021, The water striders of Pakistan (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae): new records from Punjab and first checklist for the country, Zootaxa 4996 (3), pp. 469-491 : 477-480

Naboandelus bergevini popovi Brown, 1951

( Figs. 4–6 )

Naboandelus bergevini Bergroth 1911: 256 .

Naboandelus popovi Brown 1951: 227 .

Naboandelus bergevini popovi: Linnavuori 1975: 46 . Material examined. Gujranwala District : Gammon Lake, Wazirabad, 32.465998° N 74.097017° E, 23.IV.2017, 4 ♀ apt., 10 nymphs; idem, 24.V.2017, 1 ♀ apt.; idem, 30.VII.2017, 5 ♀ apt.; Lower Chenab canal near Fish Farm Chanawan , 32.330808° N 73.888941° E, 23.IV.2017, 2 ♀ apt.; idem, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ apt., 1 ♂, 1 ♀ macr. (dealated), det. FC ( CFC) ; idem, 24. V .2017, 1 ♂ apt., 2 ♂ macr. (dealated), 10 nymphs; idem, 1 ♀ macr. (dealated), 1 V instar nymph, det. FC (CFC); idem, 16.VII.2017, 2 ♀ apt., det. FC ( CFC) ; idem, 30.VII.2017, 1 ♀ macr. (dealated), 1 ♀ apt., 2 nymphs ; idem, 1 ♂ apt. ( Figs 4a , 5a , 6 ), 1 V instar nymph, det. FC ( CFC); idem, 24.IX.2017, 1 ♀ macr. (dealated); near Noshra Virkan Road , 32.023413° N 74.139566° E, 9.X.2017, 2 ♂, 5 ♀, 1 nymph. Gujrat District : River Jhelum, Grand Trunk Road , 32.917846° N 73.723696° E, 22.IV.2017, 2 ♀ apt. (4b, 5b), det. FC ( CFC) .

General distribution. This taxon is known from Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen (Andersen 1995).

Remarks. Specimens in the current study match well with N. bergevini popovi Brown, 1951 for body measurements, pattern, and male genitalia. Females do not agree with those of N. bergevini orientalis Zettel, 1996 , described from Iraq. The easternmost species N. signatus Distant, 1910 , recorded from India to Vietnam, also exhibits features distinct from specimens collected here (see e.g., Distant 1910b; Polhemus & Polhemus 1994, 2000; Thirumalai 2002; Chandra et al. 2012).

The status of the genus and, especially of the subspecies of N. bergevini Bergroth, 1911 as currently interpreted (see Polhemus & Polhemus 1994), is far from satisfactory and needs a taxonomic revision. In particular, in part because of the records reported here, the subspecific status of N. bergevini popovi is difficult to justify since another subspecies ( N. bergevini orientalis from Iraq) lies interposed between the populations of N. bergevini popovi from the Near East (see Andersen 1995) and those from Pakistan. No records of this genus exist for Iran (see Ghahari 2013, Ghahari et al. 2013). The taxon was originally described as Naboandelus popovi by Brown (1951: 227) and subsequently downgraded to a subspecies of N. bergevini by Linnavuori (1975: 46). However, this taxon should probably be synonymized under N. bergevini or deserve specific level status.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Habitus of Naboandelus bergevini popovi Brown, 1951 from Punjab (Pakistan): a) apterous male from Lower Chenab canal (Gujranwala) and b) apterous female from River Jhelum (Gujrat). Scale bar = 1 mm (photo by F. Cianferoni).

FIGURE 5. Specimens of Naboandelus bergevini popovi Brown, 1951 from Punjab (Pakistan): a) apterous male from Lower Chenab canal (Gujranwala) and b) apterous female from River Jhelum (Gujrat). Scale bar = 0.5 mm (photo by F. Cianferoni).

FIGURE 6. Male genitalia of Naboandelus bergevini popovi Brown, 1951 from Lower Chenab canal (Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan): a–d) endosoma with sclerites in different positions; e) ventrite X, ventral view; f) ventrite X, dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm (photo by F. Cianferoni).