Knowledge of the Hemipteran fauna of the Afrotropical Region is far from perfect; this extends to aquatic Heteroptera and in particular for most of Nepomorpha, the understanding of which has stagnated since the time of Poisson's contributions. The old descriptions were based solely on the external morphology; some groups were supposed to have a low number of species in Africa (e.g. Gelastocoridae), and this approach has continued until now. A study of the male genitalia of the type specimens (including the supposed synonyms), has led me to identify several undescribed sibling species. Poisson had begun to extract and study the genitalia of most of African aquatic Heteroptera. Despite his modern approach, his works were mainly based on characteristics which were later considered to be unreliable and highly variable (e.g. parameres and antennae for Belostomatidae). The extraction of the phallus from the genital capsule in Belostomatidae allowed me to discover undescribed taxa, including a large (over 6 cm in length) new species belonging to the genus Hydrocyrius Spinola. Nonetheless, the taxonomy of several genera of Nepomorpha needs to be accurately revised, particularly in the case of some of the smaller taxa.
Advancements in the knowledge of African Nepomorpha
Cianferoni;Fabio
2015
Abstract
Knowledge of the Hemipteran fauna of the Afrotropical Region is far from perfect; this extends to aquatic Heteroptera and in particular for most of Nepomorpha, the understanding of which has stagnated since the time of Poisson's contributions. The old descriptions were based solely on the external morphology; some groups were supposed to have a low number of species in Africa (e.g. Gelastocoridae), and this approach has continued until now. A study of the male genitalia of the type specimens (including the supposed synonyms), has led me to identify several undescribed sibling species. Poisson had begun to extract and study the genitalia of most of African aquatic Heteroptera. Despite his modern approach, his works were mainly based on characteristics which were later considered to be unreliable and highly variable (e.g. parameres and antennae for Belostomatidae). The extraction of the phallus from the genital capsule in Belostomatidae allowed me to discover undescribed taxa, including a large (over 6 cm in length) new species belonging to the genus Hydrocyrius Spinola. Nonetheless, the taxonomy of several genera of Nepomorpha needs to be accurately revised, particularly in the case of some of the smaller taxa.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
