Paravelia Breddin
Creators: name: Rodrigues, Higor D. D.
name: Moreira, Felipe F. F.
name: Nieser, Nico
name: Chen, Ping Ping
name: Melo, Alan L.
name: Dias-Silva, Karina
name: Giehl, Nubia F. S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Veliidae
Paravelia

description: Genus Paravelia Breddin
Paravelia Breddin, 1898: 159 – 160.
Type-Species: Velia basalis Spinola, 1837, by original designation.
The genus Paravelia was established by Breddin (1898) to include two species described in the genus Velia Latreille, 1804: V. basalis Spinola, 1837 and V. platensis Berg, 1883, in addition to a new species described by him, P. boliviana Breddin, 1898. Most of the other species which are currently included in Paravelia were also originally described as Velia. Later on, Hungerford (1929a) transferred the species included by Breddin (P. basalis, P. platensis and P. boliviana) in Paravelia back to the genus Velia, dividing the American Vel ia into the four groups of species: basalis, brachialis, inveruglas and stagnalis. In the same year, Hungerford (1929c) created the subgenus Stridulivelia Hungerford, 1929 to allocate six species: Velia cinctipes Champion, 1898, V. quadrispinosa Hungerford, 1929, V. raspa Hungerford, 1929, V. stridulata Hungerford, 1929, V. strigosa Hungerford, 1929 and V. transversa Hungerford, 1929.
Thereafter, the genus Paravelia was neglected by most researchers, which included all the subsequent new species in the genus Vel ia. After more than forty years, Polhemus (1976) recognized that the Velia species from the New World were not congeneric with those from the Old World, transferring all American species to the genus Paravelia, and elevating the subgenus Stridulivelia to generic level. Later, Polhemus & Polhemus (1993) recognized two new genera within the species from Paravelia, based mainly in sternum and acetabula structures: Platyvelia (type Velia brachialis Stål, 1860) and Steinovelia (type Velia stagnalis Burmeister, 1835). Even with reallocations and the creation of new genera, the genus Paravelia still seems to be paraphyletic (Polhemus 1976; Andersen 1982; Polhemus & Polhemus 1993).
Redescription. Thoracic polymorphism is very common, with macropterous (as in Fig. 1 A), brachypterous (as in Fig. 19 A), micropterous (as in Fig. 5 A) and apterous (as in Fig. 13 D) forms occurring. General body color usually brown, varying from dark, almost black tones, to yellowish or orange, with or without pruinose areas. Body length between 2.30 and 9.00 mm, with or without modified setae similar to minute dark spines, which might be prominent or not, acute or blunt, named in literature as: minute conical black setae, minute peg-like points, black denticles, short black spinules, or flattened triangular tooth; herein considered small black denticles.
Head. Elongated in front of eyes and deflected; dorsally with longitudinal midline impressed and a pair of punctations or impressions on posterior region. Eyes globose, separated by a distance greater than eye width, located on posterior portion of head, adjacent to anterior margin of pronotum. Ocular setae usually present. Rostrum reaching mesocoxa.
Thorax. Pronotum in both apterous and alate forms long, covering meso- and usually almost entire metanotum, with a row of rounded punctations adjacent to anterior margin; posterior lobe covered by the same punctations, with posterior angle varying from rounded (as in Fig. 8 A) to triangular (as in Fig. 11 A), or acute (as in Fig. 17 D); anterior lobe in some species with a pair of maculae (as in Fig. 17 A), pruinose areas (as in Fig. 10 A) or pubescence (as in Fig. 2 A). Apterous and brachypterous forms usually with humeral angles not elevated. Macropterous form with wider pronotum, humeral angles well-developed and slightly elevated; forewings with four closed cells, reaching genital segments and usually dark brown; when closed, generally forming a pair of basal maculae, varying from white to yellowish, near humeral angles of pronotum; normally also another macula on apex of varied shape, which might or not reach the distal end of wings. Pro-, mesopleura, and prosternum with rounded punctations. Intersegmental region between meso- and metasternum generally with two pairs of small tubercles medially. Legs with or without spines; when present usually on hind femur, organized or not in rows, with varying numbers; all legs with three tarsomeres and falcate claws; arolia setae-like; tarsomere I generally very small; tarsomere II of midleg usually very long, reaching to five times the length of tarsomere I in some cases; tarsomere III of all legs cylindrical or subcylindrical, with parallel margins (except for P. bullialata and P. splendoris, with slightly divergent margins).
Abdomen. Generally without pruinose areas, with posterior angle of last connexival segment developed (as in Fig. 12 D) or not (as in Fig. 12 E). Males —with connexives horizontal to slightly elevated; apterous and brachypterous forms with six visible tergites (as in Figs 14 D, 18D); sternite VII sometimes bearing projections (as in Fig. 19 D) or small lobes on posterior margin (as in Fig. 6 D); proctiger with (as in Figs 20 A,D,G) or without projections (as in Figs 20 C,F); parameres symmetrical, thin or wide, rich in setae or not. Females —with elevated connexives; apterous and brachypterous forms with seven visible tergites (as in Figs 5 C, 13D), generally with connexives reflected over abdomen; proctiger and gonocoxae with or without small black denticles.
Discussion. Very similar to the Palaearctic genus Ve l i a Latreille, 1804 and the South American genus Oiovelia Drake & Maldonado-Capriles, 1952. In Ve l i a the female proctiger covers the gonocoxae and genital opening; male hind femur bears two widely separated spines on inner surface; and the macropterous form has another median macula, in addition to the basal and apical maculae. In Paravelia, the female proctiger does not cover the gonocoxae and genital opening; the spines of male hind femur, if present, are more than two and not widely separated; and the macropterous form usually has only a pair of basal maculae and an apical macula. Paravelia differs from Oiovelia mainly by the shape of tarsomere III, being cylindrical and with parallel margins, whereas they are expanded and with divergent lateral margins in Oiovelia. In addition, the macropterous form in Paravelia has a pair of basal maculae, and another apical macula on forewings, whereas in Oiovelia the macropterous specimens have only a pair of basal maculae, with remainder of wing at most pruinose. Representatives of Paravelia are frequently collected in low numbers, in lentic environments, like temporary pools, slow portions of streams, lakes, or even on water accumulated in bromeliad tanks; whereas the Oiovelia species are preferably inhabitants of foam masses formed on streams.
Diagnosis. The genus can be differentiated from other Neotropical Veliinae by the following set of characters (from Andersen 1982; Polhemus & Polhemus 1993): middle and hind tarsi with setae-shaped arolia, and only two falcate claws; abdominal segments without transverse sulci; hind femora and connexival margin without stridulatory devices; metasternum without lateral tubercles; middle leg with tarsomere II usually 4–5 times longer than the length of tarsomere I, and tarsomere III of all legs subcylindrical, with parallel margins (as in Fig. 1); and macropterous form usually with a basal macula and another apical macula (as in Figs 1 A, 2A–B); body length 2.30–9.00 mm.
description: Published as part of Rodrigues, Higor D. D., Moreira, Felipe F. F., Nieser, Nico, Chen, Ping Ping, Melo, Alan L., Dias-Silva, Karina & Giehl, Nubia F. S., 2014, The genus Paravelia Breddin, 1898 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) in Brazil, with descriptions of eight new species, pp. 1-47 in Zootaxa 3784 (1) on pages 3-4, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3784.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/285781