Overview of the species of Aphelocheirus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aphelocheiridae) of India, with description of a new species from West Bengal

Basu, Srimoyee, Saha, Goutam K. (2013): Overview of the species of Aphelocheirus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aphelocheiridae) of India, with description of a new species from West Bengal. Zootaxa 3700 (2): 293-299, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3700.2.

Metrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from northeastern India, with a key to species of the compar group occurring in India

Basu, Srimoyee, Chandra, Kailash, Venkatesan, Thiruvengadam (2018): Metrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from northeastern India, with a key to species of the compar group occurring in India. Zootaxa 4471 (2): 369-374, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4471.2.

A new species of Onychotrechus Kirkaldy, 1903 (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerridae) from Dooars, West Bengal, India, and a key to males of all species

A new species of hygropetric water strider, Onychotrechus dooarsicus sp. n. is described from Buxa Tiger Reserve, Dooars, West Bengal, India. Representatives of the new species were collected from a stream with boulders and rocks splashed by water, with slow current, situated at an altitude of 630 m a.s.l. This is the seventh species of Onychotrechus confirmed for India. The new species is closely related with O. robustus Andersen, 1980 from northwestern India and O. jaechi Zettel & Tran, 2007 from Bhutan. An identification key to males of all species of Onychotrechus species is also provided

FIGURES 28–33 in Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India

FIGURES 28–33. Amemboa bifurcata sp. nov., (28) Genital segment of male, ventral view; (29) Pygophore and proctiger, lateral view; (30) Pygophore, ventral view; (31) Proctiger, ventral view; (32–33) Male lateral arms of proctiger (two opposite views).Published as part of Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A. & Polhemus, An. A., 2014, Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India, pp. 567-577 in Zootaxa 3774 (6) on page 575, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.5, http://zenodo.org/record/22766

Amemboa mahananda Basu, Subramanian & Polhemus, 2014, sp. nov.

<i>Amemboa mahananda</i> sp. nov. <p>(Figs. 1–15)</p> <p> <b>Type Material:</b> <i>Holotype:</i> Apterous male, INDIA: West Bengal, Darjeeling District, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, stagnant pool, Lat. 26.828844°N, Long. 88.413944°E, alt. 180 m, 20.iii.2012, coll. Srimoyee Basu; <b>Reg. No. 3095/H15</b>.</p> <p> <i>Paratypes.</i> INDIA: West Bengal: 8 apterous males, 3 apterous females, same data as holotype; <b>Reg. No. 3096/ H15</b>; 4 apterous males, 1 macropterous male, 3 apterous females, 2 immatures, Darjeeling District; Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Panchanoi River, Lat. 26.827961°N; Long. 88.423169°E, alt. 170 m, 20.iii.2012, coll. Srimoyee Basu; <b>Reg. No. 3097/H15</b>.</p> <p> <b>Description:</b> Apterous male (Fig. 1). <i>Size:</i> (Measurement of Holotype in paranthesis) Body length 3.24–3.48 mm (3.36 mm); maximum width across mesoacetabula 1.10–1.20 mm (1.13 mm).</p> <p> <i>Colour:</i> Black with prominent yellowish orange markings and silvery dots dorsally. Head yellowish with a roughly ‘V’ shaped black mark medially, a pair of black elongated spots near the inner margin of eyes. First antennomere yellowish; 2nd, 3rd and 4th antennomeres brownish in colour. Rostrum yellowish with a median brown stripe. Pronotum with a roughly ‘W’ shaped yellow mark, laterally connected to the propleural stripes. Mesonotum and metanotum also with a prominent broad ‘W’ shaped yellow mark. Certain individuals with middle arm of this ‘W’ disconnected from remainder of the two arms. Metapleura with yellow stripes, broader than the black portion. Abdominal tergites black with square-shaped yellowish markings medially. Genital segments (tergite VIII) black with three triangular, small yellowish markings anteriorly. Ventral surface with prosternum, meso- and metasternum ochraceous, with a light median black stripe projecting anteriorly along about two-thirds of metasternum; Abdominal sternites including genital segment yellowish with a pale brown ‘V’ shaped marking (Fig. 7).</p> <p> <b>Structural characteristics:</b> Antennal segments spiny; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd antennomere almost equal in length; length of antennomeres 1–4: 0.78; 0.74; 0.75; 0.86 mm respectively. Rostrum 1.40 mm in length, surpassing the fore trochanter. Fourth antennomere 1.6 times longer than head (head length 0.53 mm); head little broader than long. Interocular region 2.4 times longer than eye width (interocular width/ eye width =0.44/0.18). Pronotum wider than head, 2.1 times broader than long (width/length =0.89/ 0.41mm). Mesonotum and metanotum (length 1.20 mm) 2.9 times longer than pronotum. Posterior eye width (0.14 mm) almost equal to eye width. Fore femur with three hairy black patches located almost equidistantly, followed by a shallow curvature distally. In some specimens, the last two black hairy patches connected with a median hairy zone distally as in Fig. 4, where as some lack this continuation. Middle femur 2.5 times as long as fore femur and 1.1 times longer than hind femur. Fore tibia hairy, basally with an indentation. Tarsus with a pair of prominent curved claws. Measurements of different leg segments are provided in Table 2.</p> <p> <i>Male genital segment:</i> Abdomen including genital segment 1.3 times longer than the width (length/width =0.91/0.72). Sternite VIII 1.3 times longer than width (length/width = 0.96/0.7). Genital segment almost rectangular with its curved lateral arm of proctiger projecting outward in some individuals, however, in others, this is hidden within the genital segment. Pygophore and proctiger as in Figs. 15 & 12. Pygophore widened basally on ventral view, but tapering distally, with scattered long hairs medially and densely arranged hairs along its margin. Proctiger shaped as roughly arrow-shaped, outer margin curving inward. The lateral arms of proctiger long, slender curved at middle, distally almost straight, weakly narrowed towards truncated apex (Figs. 13 & 14).</p> <p> Apterous female (Fig. 2). <i>Size:</i> Body length 3.42–3.69 mm; maximum width across mesoacetabula 1.30–1.36 mm.</p> <p> <i>Colour:</i> Similar as in apterous male, except, with a broad prominent black stripe projecting from anterior margin of mesosternum to last abdominal segment, followed by a pair (1+1) of half bracket shaped black markings on each side.</p> <p> <i>Structural characteristics:</i> Similar to apterous male. Fore leg relatively simple, without any markings (Fig.5). Mid femur 3.1 times longer than the fore femur; eye 1.7 times as long as broad (length/width = 0.32/ 0.18mm). Rostrum length 1.17 mm. Head 1.3 times longer than interocular width. Head as long as width (0.60 mm). Pronotum 1.9 times broader than long (width/length =0.87/ 0.45 mm). Abdomen relatively short, sternite VII almost in equal length of sternite II–VI combined, with little pilosity at rear margin. Genital segment bucket shaped, much wider anteriorly (Figs. 8 & 9). Measurements of legs as in Table 3.</p> <p> Macropterous male (Fig. 3). <i>Size:</i> Body length exclusive of wings 3.44 mm, inclusive of wings 4.56 mm; maximum width across mesoacetabula 1.15 mm. Humeral width 1.19 mm; length of wing 2.28 mm.</p> <p> <i>Colour and structural characteristics:</i> Similar to those of apterous male except, wings grayish with prominent venation. Median length of pronotum 1.14 mm. Pronotal lobe blackish brown. Pronotum of macropterous male with two yellow median stripes. Length of lateral margin from anterior angle to humerus 0.77 mm. Length of lateral margin from humerus to apex 0.94 mm. Measurements of leg segments as in Table 4.</p> <p> <b>Macropterous female:</b> Unknown</p> <p> <i> <i>Etymology.</i> Amemboa mahananda</i> sp. nov. was collected from a shady stagnant pool in the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary of the Darjeeling District, West Bengal. The specific epithet ‘ <i>mahananda</i> ’ is derived from the name of the protected area which is the type locality of this newly described species.</p> <p> <b>Habitat.</b> The type series of specimens was collected from a shaded, stagnant pool covered with algae, created by the Panchanoi River within the forest, and also from the banks of the slow-flowing, shady Panchanoi River. This species was found in good numbers near the steep, shaded banks of the stream.</p> <p> <b>Comparative notes.</b> <i>Amemboa mahananda</i> sp. nov. is a close relative of <i>Amemboa speciosa</i> Polhemus & Andersen, 1984 from southern Vietnam. However, we have examined the paratype series of the latter species, held in the collection of the Bishop Museum, and find that the two species exhibit the following differences: 1) the males of both species possess three black hairy patches on the fore femur, but in <i>A. speciosa</i> the middle patch is more elongate and tapering, and is separated from the more distal patch by a gap that is two times greater than the distance to the basal patch, rather than being equidistant between the basal and distal patches as seen in <i>A. mahananda</i> (Fig. 4); 2) in <i>Amemboa mahananda</i> sp. nov. the pygophore when viewed laterally is slightly curved upward towards its distal end and apically pointed, while in <i>Amemboa speciosa</i> Polhemus & Andersen the pygophore lies in a horizontal orientation, and is rounded apically (compare Fig. 15 to Fig. 86 in J. Polhemus & Andersen 1984); 3) the male lateral arms of proctiger of <i>A. mahananda</i> are distally curved (Figs. 13, 14), and in ventral view fold under the subapical portion of the pygophore (Fig. 8), whereas in <i>A. speciosa</i> the lateral arms of proctiger are distally straight in both lateral and ventral views, with their distal sections lying parallel to the pygophore and not folding underneath it, and their apices more acuminate (compare Fig. 12 to Fig. 86 in J. Polhemus & Andersen 1984); and 4) in <i>A. mahananda</i> sp. nov. the proctiger of the male is arrow-shaped and bears long setae medially, while in <i>A. speciosa</i> the proctiger possesses only a few setae on its outer margin. This character state combination involving the form of the male genitalic structures, the fore leg structure (specifically the form of the three hair tufts on male fore femur), and the pattern of markings on the pro-, meso- and metanota of both sexes serves to distinguish this species from others in the genus <i>Amemboa.</i></p>Published as part of <i>Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A. & Polhemus, An. A., 2014, Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India, pp. 567-577 in Zootaxa 3774 (6)</i> on pages 568-571, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.5, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/227662">http://zenodo.org/record/227662</a&gt

Amemboa dentata Polhemus & Andersen 1984

<i>Amemboa dentata</i> Polhemus & Andersen, 1984 <p> <i>Material examined</i>: 5 apterous males, 5 apterous females, 3 nymphs; Loc: Guikhad River bed, Rajol, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh; Dt: 9.4.2012; Coll: S. K. Ghosh & party.</p> <p> <b>New Record:</b> to the state of Himachal Pradesh.</p>Published as part of <i>Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A. & Polhemus, An. A., 2014, Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India, pp. 567-577 in Zootaxa 3774 (6)</i> on page 577, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.5, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/227662">http://zenodo.org/record/227662</a&gt

Amemboa kumari Distant 1910

<i>Amemboa kumari</i> (Distant, 1910) <p> <i>Material examined</i>: 1 apterous female; Loc: Sikhiajhora, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India; Dt: 8.iii.2011; Coll: S. Basu; 1 apterous male; Loc: Sikhiajhora, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal, India; Dt: 17.iv.2013; Coll: S. Basu.</p> <p> <b>New Record:</b> to the state of West Bengal.</p>Published as part of <i>Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A. & Polhemus, An. A., 2014, Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India, pp. 567-577 in Zootaxa 3774 (6)</i> on page 576, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.5, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/227662">http://zenodo.org/record/227662</a&gt

Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India

Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A., Polhemus, An. A. (2014): Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India. Zootaxa 3774 (6): 567-577, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.

Amemboa bifurcata Basu, Subramanian & Polhemus, 2014, sp. nov.

Amemboa bifurcata sp. nov. (Figs. 16–33) Type Material: Holotype. apterous male, INDIA: West Bengal, Jalpaiguri District, Kalikhola, stream flowing between Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary and Gorumara National Park, Lat. 26.871688 °N, Long. 88. 87443 °E, alt. 168 m, 17.iii. 2013, coll. Srimoyee Basu; Reg. No. 3132 /H 15. Paratypes. INDIA: West Bengal: 4 apterous males, 10 apterous females, 4 nymphs, same data as holotype; Reg. NO. 3133 /H 15; 2 apterous males, Jalpaiguri District; Chilapata forest, Bania River, Lat. 26.606552 °N; Long. 88.40428 °E, alt. 74m, 19.iv. 2013, coll. Srimoyee Basu; Reg. No. 3134 /H 15. Description: Apterous male (Figs. 16 & 18). Size: (Measurement of Holotype in brackets) Body length 3.23–3.62 mm (3.49 mm); maximum width across mesoacetabula 1.04–1.13 mm (1.10 mm). Colour: Brownish black with yellow markings dorsally. Head yellowish with black markings as in fig. 16. Eyes reddish brown. Pronotum black with yellow marking as typical for the genus. Sub-medial yellow stripes on mesonotum narrow, not connected to the lateral stripes. Metanotum almost black, with silvery pubescence. Laterally, pleural broad, black stripe reaches a little more than half way of body, discontinued from mesoacetabula. Abdominal tergite II–IV entirely black, V–VIII black with a median yellow spot. Meso- and metaacetabula with silverish, shining, frosted areas. Antenna and legs yellowish brown. Venter yellow. Rostrum yellow with fourth segment black. Metasternum medially with dark brown triangular mark. A pair of broad, black, curved stripes start from mesosternum, continuing upto metasternum, as typical for the genus. Abdominal sterna II–VI dark brown. Sternum VIII yellowish. Structural Characteristics: Head 1.2 times wider than long; length of head 0.57mm, width of head across eyes 0.71mm. Interocular width 0.42mm, 1.9 times as wide as eye width (0.22). Eye length 0.35mm. Antennae shorter than body-length; length of antennomeres 1–4: 0.76; 0.74; 0.78; 0.86mm. Rostrum 1.4mm, reaching beyond the forecoxa (Fig. 18), 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd segment with pilosity. Pronotum 1.8 times wider than length (W/L= 0.87 / 0.48). Length of meso-and metanota 1.22mm together and maximum widths 1.18mm. Posterior margin of metanotum sinuate. Head, pro-, meso-and metanota, abdominal tergites I–VI with golden short sub-erect hairs. Male fore leg (Fig. 20 & 21): fore femur moderately incrassate, ratio of length and width 4.1 (0.99 / 0.24); with three black tuft of hairs, basal part with elongated patch of stiff sub-erect hairs, followed by one thin almost pointed patch of hairs and distally with one elongated patch of black, short hairs. Fore tibia modified with outer margin concave and inner margin with a prominent ridge near middle, covered with short dense pilosity. Fore tarsus with first segment shorter than second segment; claws sharply bent, curved. Mid leg longer than the hind leg. Mid and hind femur, tibia, tarsus with scattered spines. Abdominal sterna 2 X as long as wide (L/W=1.0/ 0.48). Sterna II–VI combined; sternite VII little wider and longer than the rest. Measurements of leg segments are provided in Table 5. Male genital segment (Figs. 24 & 25). Abdominal sternum VIII 1.4 times as long as wide (L/W= 0.69 / 0.48), elongated, with silvery pubescence. Abdominal sternite VIII 1.4 times longer than width, almost rectangular with parameres projecting outward (length/width: 0.72 / 0.50). Pygophore and proctiger as in Figs. 30 & 31. Pygophore oval-shaped, basally more widened, with densely arranged long hairs and modified distally into an elongated narrow process. Proctiger semi-circular in shape, hairy below. The length of lateral arms of proctiger 0.40mm, bifurcated at middle forming two slender arms, tip of these two bifurcations end bluntly; in dorsal view, it is widened anteriorly, and then gradually narrowed towards its posterior end (Figs. 32 & 33). Apterous female (Figs. 17 & 19). Size: Body length 4.14– 4.28 mm; maximum width across mesoacetabula 1.33–1.36mm. Colour: Similar as in apterous male, except, the sub-lateral yellow markings on meso- and metanota disconnected at middle and the dark mark on meso- and meta sterna. Sternum VII yellow with broad, round black marking at middle. Structural Characterstics: Similar to apterous male. Head length 0.71 and width across eyes 0.81. Interocular width 0.45. Pronotum 1.76 times as wide as long (W/L= 0.90 / 0.51). Concavity on posterior margin of metanotum wider. Fore leg (Fig. 22) relatively slender, dorsally with a black stripe, ratio of length and width 5.9 (1.18: 0.20); inner margin of fore femora with densely arranged black hairs and with golden hairs distributed throughout. Fore tibia without any modification, but with numerous short hairs. Tarsal claws sharp, curved. Abdominal sterna elongated, broad, length 1.25 and width 0.64. Measurements of leg segments as in Table 6. Genital segment of female (Fig. 26 & 27): Sternum VII 1.28 times as long as wide (L/W= 0.73 / 0.57), basally broad, traphaezoid, hairy below. Ovipositors (Fig. 27) are long with densely arranged spines on it. Proctiger round shaped, ends bluntly. Macropterous male and female: Unknown. Etymology. The male lateral projection of the proctiger in this new species is bifurcated in the middle, giving rise to two different parts, which is a defining character of this species. Hence, the specific epithet ‘ bifurcata ’ is derived from the unique form of the male genitalic structures. Habitat. The type series of Amemboa bifurcata sp. nov. was collected from a slow flowing stream, Kalikhola, located in boundary between Gorumara and Chapramari forest of West Bengal, India. The paratypes of this new species were collected from Bania River, a tributary of Teesta River, flowing across the Chilapata forest of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. Comparative notes: Amemboa bifurcata sp. nov. is closely related to A. dentata J. Polhemus & Andersen, 1984, first described from Dehradun, Uttarakhand. We have examined a male paratype of A. dentata from the type locality and find the following differences involving the male forelegs and male genitalia: 1) The basal two hair tufts on the male fore femur are similar in both species, but A. bifurcata possess two tufts distally, consisting of an acuminate tuft just beyond the central concavity followed by a broad brushy tuft (Figs. 18, 20, 21), whereas in A. dentata only the acuminate tuft is present; in addition, the basal section of the male fore femur is more strongly incrassate in A. bifurcata; 2) In A. bifurcata, the pygophore is much wider than in A. dentata (Fig. 30); and 3) in lateral view, the more ventral of the two bifurcated lateral arms of the proctiger is very slender in A. dentata, while being thicker and more massive in A. bifurcata; in dorsal and ventral views, by contrast, the shapes of the ventral arms are similar in both species.Published as part of Basu, Srimoyee, Subramanian, K. A. & Polhemus, An. A., 2014, Two new species of Amemboa Esaki (Heteroptera: Gerridae) from West Bengal, India, pp. 567-577 in Zootaxa 3774 (6) on pages 572-576, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3774.6.5, http://zenodo.org/record/22766

Not Available

Not AvailableMetrocoris sikkimensis sp. nov. is described from Sikkim, northeastern India, compared with similar species, included in an identification key and its geographical distribution is mapped. This species is assigned to the Metrocoris compar group based on the venter of the body entirely blackish and the male fore femur slender and unarmed. It can be distinguished from other species of the group based on the dark mesosternum without yellow markings, by the apically curved male paramere without setae, and by the structure of male endosomal sclerites.Not Availabl