Zoogeography, ecology, and systematics of the genus Rhagovelia Mayr (Heteroptera: Veliidae) in Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas

The genus Rhagovelia is revised for the region comprising Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Redescriptions are given for species previously described from the area, and 26 new species are described. Figures of the dorsal habitus and key characters are provided for all species, accompanied by a key to species and distribution maps. Species occurring in the region are divided into eight monophyletic intrageneric species groups, some of which also contain members outside the region, based primarily on wing venation, thoracic morphology, and genitalia. A zoogeographic analysis is presented based on the distribution of these groups within the Malay Archipelago and surrounding regions. We conclude that the present Rhagovelia fauna of the Malay Archipelago is derived from species which originated in continental Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Caledonia. Distinct lineages have entered the region from each of these three source areas, penetrating the archipelago with differing degrees of success and contributing to the fauna of each individual island to varying extents. Species groups of Asian origin do not extend beyond Celebes and the Lesser Sunda islands, while species groups of Papuan origin are absent in the Lesser Sundas and do not extend west of Borneo. Endemic species groups have also arisen on New Guinea, the Philippines, the north Moluccas, and Borneo. A section on ecology and behavior is provided, dealing in particular with the altitudinal segregation of species on individual islands. The following new Rhagovelia species are described: bacanensis, borneensis, celebensis, christenseni, grayi, hamdjahi, incognita, lorelinduana, meikdelyi, melanopsis, minahasa, obi, pruinosa, ranau, sabela, samardaca, samarinda, sarawakensis, silau, simulata, sondaica, sulawesiana, tawau, lebakang, unica, and wallacei. Rhagovelia mindanaoensis Hungerford and Matsuda 1961 is synonymized with Rhagovelia orientalis Lundblad 1937 (new synonymy)

A new species and new records of Engytatus from the Hawaiian Islands (Heteroptera, Miridae)

Engytatus henryi sp. n. is described from the Waianae Mountains of Oahu. This new species feeds on Abutilon sandwicense (Malvaceae), an endangered understory plant in mesic forests. A dorsal habitus photograph and line drawings of key male genitalic structures are provided for E. henryi, accompanied by a photograph of the host plant. Cyrtopeltis kahakai Asquith is given a new generic assignment as Engytatus kahakai (Asquith) new combination, and additional locality and host-plant records are provided for four other Hawaiian endemic Engytatus species

Zoogeography, Ecology, and Systematics of the Genus \u3ci\u3eRhagovelia \u3c/i\u3eMayr (Heteroptera: Veliidae) in Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas

The genus Rhagovelia is revised for the region comprising Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Redescriptions are given for species previously described from the area, and 26 new species are described. Figures of the dorsal habitus and key characters are provided for all species, accompanied by a key to species and distribution maps. Species occurring in the region are divided into eight monophyletic intrageneric species groups, some of which also contain members outside the region, based primarily on wing venation, thoracic morphology, and genitalia. A zoogeographic analysis is presented based on the distribution of these groups within the Malay Archipelago and surrounding regions. We conclude that the present Rhagovelia fauna of the Malay Archipelago is derived from species which originated in continental Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Caledonia. Distinct lineages have entered the region from each of these three source areas, penetrating the archipelago with differing degrees of success and contributing to the fauna of each individual island to varying extents. Species groups of Asian origin do not extend beyond Celebes and the Lesser Sunda islands, while species groups of Papuan origin are absent in the Lesser Sundas and do not extend west of Borneo. Endemic species groups have also arisen on New Guinea, the Philippines, the north Moluccas, and Borneo. A section on ecology and behavior is provided, dealing in particular with the altitudinal segregation of species on individual islands. The following new Rhagovelia species are described: bacanensis, borneensis, celebensis, christenseni, grayi, hamdjahi, incognita, lorelinduana, meikdelyi, melanopsis, minahasa, obi, pruinosa, ranau, sabela, samardaca, samarinda, sarawakensis, silau, simulata, sondaica, sulawesiana, tawau, lebakang, unica, and wallacei. Rhagovelia mindanaoensis Hungerford and Matsuda 1961 is synonymized with Rhagovelia orientalis Lundblad 1937 (new synonymy)

Phylogenetic Analysis of the Hawaiian Damselfly Genus Megalagrion (Odonata: Coenagrionidae): Implications for Biogeography, Ecology, and Conservation Biology

A phylogeny of the 22 species currently recognized in the genus Megalagrion, endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, is presented based on an analysis of 23 morphological and ecological characters. After the exclusion ofM. williamsoni, known from only a single male, and inclusion of subspecies within their nominate taxa, a single resolved tree of length 85 was obtained; this tree has a consistency index of 0.56 and a retention index of 0.72. Based on this phylogeny, it appears that the major clades within Megalagrion differentiated on Kaua'i or an antecedent high island. These clades subsequently colonized the younger islands in the chain in an independent and sequential fashion. The phylogeny also implies an ecological progression from ancestral breeding sites in ponds or slow stream pools to breeding on seeps, with the latter habitat having given rise on one hand to a clade of species breeding in phytotelmata or terrestrially, and on the other hand to a clade breeding in rushing midstream waters. The latter ecological progression also indicates a transformation series in larval gill structure from foliate to saccate and eventually to lanceolate. Most species of current conservation concern are shown to be clustered in particular clades, indicating an inherent phylogenetic vulnerability of certain taxon clusters to novel ecological perturbations; the additional species at risk not present in the above clades are endemics confined to the island of O'ahu and have declined because of their geographic provenance

Comparisons to the Century Before: The Legacy of R. C. L. Perkins and Fauna Hawaiiensis as the Basis for a Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Program

As one means of assessing the impact of the past 100 yr of development and biological alteration in Hawai'i, the damselfly (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) and carabid beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) collections of R. C. L. Perkins made in the l890s are compared with similar collections made one century later during the 1990s. Two islands that have experienced very different histories of development are compared: O'ahu and Moloka'i. Of eight native damselfly species originally inhabiting O'ahu, one has been extirpated from the island, another is now reduced to a single population, and three more are at risk. Of the eight species originally found on Moloka'i, by contrast, there is only one species that has not been rediscovered, although there is reasonable probability that it has simply eluded capture because of inherent rarity, whereas the remaining species retain large and stable populations. Capture frequencies (based on specimens collected per decade) are lower now than in the preceding century for most species on O'ahu, even allowing for modem collectors retaining fewer specimens. The only species on O'ahu for which captures have increased between the l890s and the 1990s are those that breed away from lotic and lentic habitats, indicating a severe negative impact from introduced aquatic biota for species that breed in such freshwater situations. On Moloka'i, all damselfly species except one have higher capture rates now than in the l890s, explainable in large part to improved access to previously remote terrain. Among the Carabidae studied, 1990s surveys on Moloka'i have found 12 of 15 species Perkins sampled in the 1890s. Overall, recent surveys have failed to rediscover five species, all of which have been relatively rarely encountered over all decades of the past century. Recent surveys on O'ahu have recollected 17 of the 21 species Perkins found in the 1890s. The most dramatic change in the O'ahu carabid fauna over the past 100 yr is the extinction of the most common O'ahu species of the 1890s, Colpocaccus tantalus (Blackburn). This species was broadly distributed across the island, possessed a well-developed flight apparatus, and accounted for 39% of the specimens captured in the 1890s. It has not been collected since 1940 in spite of intensive collecting during the 1950s and 1990s. The elevational preference of C. tantalus was lower than that for the aggregate balance of the O'ahu carabid fauna, suggesting an altitudinally associated factor in the extinction: most likely ants such as Pheidole megacephala (F.). The loss of a previously dominant generalist species is viewed as an ecological catastrophe, substantially different in quality from extinction of geographically restricted island specialists

A new Indian Ocean species of Ochterus from the island of Mauritius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Ochteridae)

Polhemus, Dan A., Polhemus, John T. (2008): A new Indian Ocean species of Ochterus from the island of Mauritius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Ochteridae). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (2): 281-288, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.517673

Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Ix. Infraorder Nepomorpha, Families Ochteridae And Gelastocoridae

Polhemus, Dan A., Polhemus, John T. (2012): Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Ix. Infraorder Nepomorpha, Families Ochteridae And Gelastocoridae. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 60 (2): 343-359, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.534815

Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Viii. Leptopodomorpha, Families Saldidae, Leptopodidae, And Omaniidae

Polhemus, John T., Polhemus, Dan A. (2012): Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Viii. Leptopodomorpha, Families Saldidae, Leptopodidae, And Omaniidae. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 60 (2): 329-341, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.534809

Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Xi. Infraorder Nepomorpha- Families Naucoridae And Aphelocheiridae

Polhemus, Dan A., Polhemus, John T. (2013): Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Xi. Infraorder Nepomorpha- Families Naucoridae And Aphelocheiridae. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61 (2): 665-686, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.535270

Dineutus (Merodineutus) macrochirus Regimbart 1899

Dineutus (Merodineutus) macrochirus Régimbart, 1899 Fig. 6 Dineutes macrochirus Régimbart, 1899: 196. Dineutus (s. str.) macrochirus: Hatch, 1926: 344. Dineutus (Merodineutus) macrochirus: Ochs, 1955: 153. Material examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Central Prov.: 1 male, 2 females, Owen Stanley Range, upper Udabe River, 1.25 km. SSE of Woitape, 1570 m. [5150 ft.], 8 ° 33 ' 34 "S, 147 ° 15 ' 26 "E, water temp. 18 °C., 2 October 2003, 11:00– 11: 45 hrs., CL 7250, D. A. Polhemus (USNM); 1 male, 1 female, Owen Stanley Range, Om Creek, trib. to upper Udabe River, 1.85 km. SSE of Woitape, 1585 m. [5200 ft.], 8 ° 33 ' 28 "S, 147 ° 15 ' 22 "E, water temp. 19 °C., 2 October 2003, 12:00– 12: 30 hrs., CL 7251, D. A. Polhemus (USNM); 1 male, 1 female, Owen Stanley Range, Mas River, 2.0 km. SW of Fane, 1235 m. [4050 ft.], 8 ° 33 ' 25 "S, 147 °04'04"E, water temp. 20 °C., 5 October 2003, 10:00– 13: 30 hrs., CL 7257, D. A. Polhemus (USNM). Discussion. This very large species is widely distributed at higher elevations in the Owen Stanley Range (Fig. 6). At the Om Creek locality this species was found on a moderately swift, clear creek traversing a cleared valley floor in a bed of dark, water-rounded rocks and boulders, bordered by steep, grassy banks and partially shaded by remnant trees. The water here was 0.3–1.0 m. deep, occupying a channel 2– 3 m. wide, with the gyrinids occurring on shaded pools. Based on known collections, this subspecies occupies the Owen Stanley Mountains area of freshwater endemism (Area 31) as defined by Polhemus & Allen (2007). The records above were also provided in Kraus et al. (2006).Published as part of Polhemus, Dan A., 2011, New distributional records for Gyrinidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) on New Guinea and nearby islands, with a checklist of the New Guinea species, pp. 51-68 in Zootaxa 2900 on page 62, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20302