Ptilomera Amyot & Serville

Raruanysong, Sajeemat, Vitheepradit, Akekawat & Sites, Robert W., 2014, Key to the species of Ptilomerinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) of Thailand and review of the fauna of the Tennaserim Mountain Range, Zootaxa 3852 (1), pp. 101-117 : 103

Genus Ptilomera Amyot & Serville

The genus was revised by Hungerford & Matsuda (1965) and comprises 46 described species throughout the Oriental region and some Pacific islands ( Hungerford & Matsuda 1965; Andersen 1967a, b; Nieser & Chen 1992; Polhemus 1998, 2001; Polhemus & Polhemus 2001; Zettel 2003; Vitheepradit & Sites 2007). The Thai fauna was thoroughly reviewed and seven species were reported from the country, which is the most speciose compared to that of other mainland countries in Southeast Asia ( Vitheepradit & Sites 2007). The distribution patterns of Ptilomera in the Tennaserim Mountain Range are reflective of those of Ptilomera throughout Indochina in that P. tigrina is a widespread species, whereas the Thai congeners are local endemics ( Polhemus 2001, Vitheepradit & Sites 2007). Members of this genus usually are found in riffles of fast flowing streams in which they maintain their position by rapid striding in an upstream direction. In the Tennaserim Mountain Range, three species were collected.