Pseudovelia spiculata Ye & Bu, 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ye, Zhen
name: Bu, Wenjun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Macroveliidae
Pseudovelia
Pseudovelia spiculata

description: Pseudovelia spiculata sp. nov.
(Figs. 3, 10, 11, 12, 15, 18, 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40)
Material examined. Holotype: apterous male, CHINA, Taiwan Prov., Yilan County, Suao town, Wushibi (24°28'N, 121°50'E), 8 June 2013, Zhen Ye leg. (NKUM). Paratypes: 2 apterous males, 2 apterous females, same data as holotype (NKUM); 2 apterous males, 3 apterous females, Taiwan Prov., Yilan county, Yuanshan village, Fushan Botanical Garden (24°45'N, 121°36'E), 9 June 2013, Zhen Ye leg. (NKUM).
Diagnosis. Pseudovelia spiculata sp. nov. is closely related to P. taiwanensis Ye, Polhemus & Bu, 2013. However, P. spiculata sp. nov. can be distinguished by the venter of hind tarsal segment I with a row of long, black bristles (Fig. 18); lateral portion of male hind tibia bearing a row of short, black spines (Fig. 12); and by distinct differences in the structure of abdominal ventrite VIII (Figs. 25, 26, 34, 35).
Description. Apterous male (Fig. 3). Color: ground color brown, head blackish brown, clypeus brown; labrum black, rostrum dark yellow with black apex, buccula brown; basal part of antennal segment I dark yellow, apical part infuscated, segments II–IV blackish brown; pronotum dull orange, with dense, black spots on posterior part; legs mainly yellowish brown, basal part of femora yellowish, apex of femora weakly infuscated, tibiae and tarsi yellowish brown; abdomen mainly blackish brown, connexiva dark orange, lateral portions of mediotergite I, and medial parts of mediotergites II, III, VI and VII with prominent silvery pubescence; abdominal segment VIII, pygophore and proctiger yellowish, each of them apically infuscated. Structural characteristics: body length: 2.01– 2.04 (holotype: 2.03), small-sized, rather stout, bearing short, suberect, grayish setae, area around eyes and antennal segment I covered by relatively few, long, suberect, grayish setae. Head short and wide, relatively perpendicular, width: 0.48–0.51, length: 0.28–0.31, head width about 1.67 times its length; labrum angular, buccula clearly visible, not produced posteriorly; eyes bare except for the presence of two ocular setae; antenna about 0.63 times as long as body, lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.37, 0.23, 0.28, 0.40. Pronotum relatively broad, width: 0.63–0.66, length: 0.37–0.40, about 1.67 times as wide as long, with dense dark punctures scattered on posterior part, hind margin almost straight, anterior margin slightly emarginated; metanotum completely hidden beneath pronotal lobe except laterally; fore tibia (Figs. 10, 15) slightly widened apically, with dense, suberect, short setae, medial part of venter with slight process (Fig. 15), length of grasping comb 0.23, about 0.45 times fore tibia length (Fig. 15); middle leg (Fig. 11) normal, without any modification; hind tibia (Fig. 12) straight, with dense, short, decumbent setae, lateral portion bearing a row of 5–6 short, black spines (Fig. 12), venter of hind tarsal segment I with a row of long, black bristles (Fig. 18), ventral arolium bristle-like; lengths of leg segments (femur, tibia and tarsus): fore leg: 0.50, 0.51 and 0.24, middle leg: 0.62, 0.63 and 0.37 (0.12 + 0.25), hind leg: 0.61, 0.70 and 0.46 (0.20 + 0.26); mediotergites almost flat, connexival segments III–VI approximately rectangular and flat; mediotergites II–V subequal in length; abdominal venter flat, slightly concave medially. Genital segments: relatively small, abdominal segment VIII (Figs. 25, 26, 34, 35) about 2.32 times as long as wide, posterior margin with short, sparse, yellowish setae, with an irregularly shaped depression ventrally, hind margin of this depression with a prominently laminar process, which bears spine-like setae medially, lateral part of depression slightly convex, bordered by spine-like setae; lateral part of of pygophore with a cluster of short, brown setae (Figs. 27, 36), posterior margin of pygophore with short, sparse, erect, black setae (Figs. 27, 36); proctiger small, with rather blunt apex, posterior margin with rather short, erect, black setae; parameres symmetrical, small, constricted medially, apical part widened with rounded apex.
Apterous female. Body small-sized, slightly larger than in male, body length: 2.15–2.19; structure of head including antenna as in male, head width: 0.50–0.53, head length: 0.30–0.33, head width about 1.65 times its length, antenna about 0.59 times as long as body, lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.37, 0.24, 0.27, 0.40; hind margin of pronotum straight, pronotum width: 0.60–0.63, pronotum length: 0.30–0.33, about 1.97 times as wide as long; fore tibia without grasping comb or ventral process, hind tibia and tarsus unmodified, venter of hind tarsal segment I without a row or cluster of black bristles; lengths of leg segments (femur, tibia and tarsus): fore leg: 0.51, 0.52 and 0.25, middle leg: 0.63, 0.64 and 0.38 (0.12 + 0.26), hind leg: 0.61, 0.71 and 0.48 (0.21 + 0.27); abdominal pleura and venter without special modifications, connexiva slightly raised and widened, converging posteriorly and touching caudally; end of abdomen raised in lateral view, gonocoxa I elongate, proctiger blackish brown, protruded backward, with dense, short setae.
Macropterous male and female: unknown.
Etymology. The specific epithet “ spiculata ” (from Latin, meaning spine) refers to the lateral portion of the hind tibia in male bearing a row of short, black spines.
Distribution. China (Taiwan) (Fig. 40).
description: Published as part of Ye, Zhen & Bu, Wenjun, 2015, Three new species of the genus Pseudovelia Hoberlandt, 1950 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) from China, pp. 183-191 in Zootaxa 4039 (1) on pages 189-190, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4039.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/240115