Xiphovelia reflexa 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
Xiphovelia
Xiphovelia reflexa

description: Xiphovelia reflexa sp. nov.
(Figs. 3, 4, 14, 18, 25, 29, 36, 37)
Type material. Holotype: apterous male, CHINA, Henan Prov., Nanyang city, Xixia county, Longtangou (33°30' N, 111°37' E), 25.XIII.2014, coll. Zhen Ye. Paratypes: CHINA, Henan Prov., 3 apterous males and 4 apterous females, same data as for holotype.
Diagnosis. X. reflexa sp. nov. is similar to X. japonica Esaki & Miyamoto, 1959, with both of hind portions of connexiva in females reflexed. However, X. reflexa sp. nov. can be distinguished by the fore femur in male with a small dark stria on inner side of sub-apex.
Description. Apterous male (Fig. 3). Colour: ground colour brownish; head dorsum brown, ventrally grayish, clypeus yellowish brown, labrum shining black, rostrum yellowish brown with black apex; antennal segments I–IV yellowish brown; pronotum with a transverse band brownish, meso- and metanotum black, with a pair of rounded, silvery hair markings, indistinct on metanotum; legs yellowish with apices of femora, tibiae and tarsi weakly infuscated (Fig. 3), subapex of fore femora ventrally with blackish stria (Fig. 14); abdomen dorsally black, mediotergites II laterally, mediotergites III–VII medially except mediotergite V devoid of silvery hair marking, inner region of laterotergites III and VI with silvery hair markings; abdominal segment VIII, pygophore yellowish (after dissection), each weakly infuscated apically.
Structural characteristics. Body length 1.66–1.67 (holotype: 1.67), greatest width 0.73–0.74 (holotype: 0.74), small-sized, flat and oval, bearing short, grayish or silver, appressed pubescence; head short and wide, head length: 0.30–0.32, head width: 0.49–0.51, about 1.61 times head length; anterior margin of pronotum concaved; labrum reverse triangle; eyes globose, overlapping anterior pronotal angles; antennae about 0.56 times as long as body, length of antennal segments I–IV: 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.31, antennal segment I stout, antennal segments II–III relatively slender, segment IV stouter than preceeding segment; pronotum short and transverse, pronotum width: 0.47–0.48, pronotum length: 0.10–0.11, about 4.7 times as wide as long; mesonotum large and transverse, broadly fused with metanotum medially; legs with mainly decumbent, short setae except middle tibiae ventrally with relatively long, erect setae; fore femora straight and thick, fore tibiae slightly curved in apical part, length of grasping comb 0.13, about 0.29 times tibiae length; middle trochanters longand slender, middle femora almost straight and thin, middle tibiae inner margin convexed, with a row of about 7–8 long erect bristles along inner margin (Fig. 18), claws and ventral arolium of middle tarsal segment II leaf-like structure inserted subapically; hind femora stout and narrowed toward both ends, hind tibiae straight and longer than middle tibiae; lengths of leg segments (trochanters, femora, tibiae and tarsi): fore leg: 0.17, 0.45, 0.39 and 0.20, middle leg: 0.22, 0.53, 0.46 and 0.43 (0.17+0.26), hind leg: 0.17, 0.50, 0.57 and 0.32 (0.11+0.21); abdomen dorsally narrowed backwards, connexiva narrow and almost flat. Genital segments: abdominal segment VIII (Fig. 25) about 1.50 times as long as wide, posterior margin with some short, sparse, erect, black brown hairs; pygophore (Fig. 29) swollen at posterior end in ventral aspect and with a ear-like process on each side; paramere rudimental.
Apterous female (Fig. 4). Body small-sized, slightly longer and greatly wider than male, coloration and markings similar to that of male; body length: 1.89–1.91, greatest width: 0.86–0.87; structure of head including antennae as in male, head length: 0.33–0.34, head width: 0.55–0.56, about 1.67 times head length, antennae about 0.50 times as long as body, lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.20, 0.21, 0.22, 0.32; pronotum width: 0.60–0.61, pronotum length: 0.09–0.10, about 6.0 times as wide as long; legs similar to those of male except fore tibiae without grasping comb, lengths of leg segments (trochanters, femora, tibiae and tarsi): fore leg: 0.20, 0.45, 0.39 and 0.20, middle leg: 0.21, 0.54, 0.47 and 0.44 (0.17+0.27), hind leg: 0.19, 0.50, 0.57 and 0.33 (0.11+0.22); connexiva broader than in male, hind portions erected and folded over abdomen but not touching each other (Fig. 4); genital segments retracted into abdomen.
Macropterous male and macropterous female: unknown.
Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin reflexus (meaning reflexed), refers to the reflexed hind portions of connexiva in female.
Distribution. China (Henan) (Fig. 37).
description: Published as part of Ye, Zhen & Bu, Wenjun, 2015, A review of the genus Xiphovelia Lundblad, 1933 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Veliidae) from China, with descriptions of three new species, pp. 190-200 in Zootaxa 3946 (2) on pages 198-199, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3946.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/244012