Paravelia nieseri Moreira & Barbosa, 2012

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 : 285-286

Paravelia nieseri Moreira & Barbosa, 2012

( Figs. 21–26 , 30 )

Paravelia nieseri Moreira & Barbosa, 2012: 61–63 (original description).

Supplemental description (based on non-type specimens examined for this study). Body length, male 6.50, female 5.80; maximum width, male 2.20, female 2.10. Anterior third of head, anterolateral region and posterior band of pronotum, parts of thoracic pleura, lateral region (just below impressed furrows) of abdominal sterna II–VII in male and II–VI in female covered by minute, frosty pubescence (as in Fig. 22 ), visible mainly in posterior view. Ocular setae present. Posterior region of head with a pair of narrow, convergent, impressed lines between impressed median line and rounded posterior indentations ( Fig. 22 ). Metasternum with posterior margin convex. Pro- and mesoacetabula each with a rounded punctation on mesal surface. Male fore tibia (1.75 mm long) with grasping comb (0.96 mm long) occupying little more than half of its length ( Fig. 23 ). Female fore tibia (1.44 mm long) with grasping comb (0.14 mm long) occupying only a small apical portion of segment ( Fig. 24 ). Middle tibia with a row of elongate dark-brown trichobothria-like setae on posterior third, decreasing in size distally ( Fig. 25 ). Male hind trochanter with small, obtuse spines posteriorly. Abdomen laterally with roughly ovate to rounded impressed longitudinal furrows ( Fig. 26 ).

Discussion. Illustrations of this species, as well as other diagnostic characteristics, were provided by Moreira & Barbosa (2012), Rodrigues et al. (2014), and Rodrigues & Moreira (2022). Paravelia nieseri is morphologically very similar to P. truxali Polhemus & Polhemus, 1985 , and both can be separated by the color of the pronotum and the structure of the female hind femur. In P. nieseri , the pronotum is mostly black with only an orange posterior band ( Fig. 21 ) and the female hind femur lacks black pegs, whereas in P. truxali the pronotum is orange, with the anterior lobe, humeral angles, and a wide median stripe black, and the female hind femur has seven black pegs on the posterior surface, which increase in size distally.

Distribution and habitat. This species is distributed in the States of Minas Gerais and Piauí, southeastern and northeastern Brazil respectively, in regions ranging from 524 to 1300 meters in elevation ( Fig. 30 ). It can be collected in temporary ponds on open trails, in ponds in shaded areas with litter substrate, and more recently, it has been found in subterranean waters in limestone caves.

Published records. Brazil: Minas Gerais and Piauí ( Moreira & Barbosa 2012; Rodrigues et al. 2014; Rodrigues & Moreira 2016; Rodrigues & Moreira 2022).

Material examined. All specimens macropterous. BRAZIL, Minas Gerais; Serra do Cipó, Cardeal Mota , Trilha dos Escravos, 19°18.852’S, 43°36.069’W, 1.023 m, 23.Nov.2016, L-1959, H. Rodrigues col. (1♂, MZUSP); Santuário do Caraça , poça na trilha da Cachoeira Cascatona [= pool in the Cascatona Waterfall trail], 20°5.834’S, 43°29.397’W, 1.277 m, 26.Nov.2016, L-1970, R.W. Sites & H. Rodrigues col. (1♀, MZUSP) .

Figures

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

FIGURES 21–29. Paravelia spp., (21–26) Paravelia nieseri Moreira & Barbosa, (21) dorsal habitus of female from Serra do Caraça, Brazil (MZUSP), (22) dorsal view of head, (23) fore tibia of male, (24) fore tibia of female, (25) middle tibia of male, black arrow indicates elongate dark-brown trichobothria-like setae, (26) lateral view of female abdomen. (27–29) Paravelia rotundanotata (Hungerford), (27) dorsal habitus of micropterous male from Paragominas, Brazil (CEIOC), (28) fore tibia and tarsus of male, (29) lateral view of male abdomen. gc = grasping comb, if = impressed furrow, iml = impressed median line, cil = convergent impressed line, pi = posterior indentation, II–VII = abdominal segments.