Aphelocheirus
Creators: name: Basu, Srimoyee
name: Saha, Goutam K.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Aphelocheiridae
Aphelocheirus

description: Key to Indian species of Aphelocheirus
1. Substantially larger species, length more than 6.0 mm. (subgenus Aphelocheirus Westwood, 1833)..................... 2
- Relatively smaller species, length less than 5.0 mm. (subgenus Microaphelocheirus Hoberlandt & Stŷs, 1979)........... 3
2. Hemelytra touching each other medially in brachypterous forms................................................4
- Hemelytra widely or narrowly separated from each other medially in brachypterous forms............................ 5
3. Body length not more than 4.0 mm; head 1.3 times as wide as long; hemelytra complete, exceeding tip of abdomen, with welldefined embolium; inner propleural projection broadly triangular; female sub genital plate trapezoidal, broad at basal half, narrowing at apical half, with long laterally short subapical tufts of hairs.................. A. (M.) pygmaeus La Rivers, 1971
- Body length more than 4.0 mm.; head 1.35 times as wide as long; hemelytra with little projected corner at embolium; inner propleural projection broadly rounded; female subgenital plate rounded apically and with two small sub apical hair clusters................................................................................. A.(M.) signatus Zettel, 1998
4. Body length 9.8–9.9 mm; head elongated in front beyond the eyes; propleura strongly pointed at medial apex; male right paramere bulged sub-basally and strongly curved distally, apex pointed, left paramere wider and long................................................................................................... A.(A.) boukali Zettel, 2000
- Body length 7.0 – 7.7 mm; head slightly produced beyond the eyes; propleura broadly rounded posteriorly; male right paramere relatively slender, basally acuminated, with an almost uniform width and more concave apically, with six stout spines located medially and with bunch of setae arising from the concave margin; left paramere distinctly wider than the right paramere, stout, gently curved, widened sub-basally, more convex near medial apex, finally tapering towards its apex, with rounded tip and seven spines arranged parallel in two rows......................................... A. (A.) thirumalaii sp. nov.
5. Hemelytra widely separated from each other medially in brachypterous forms...................................... 6
- Hemelytra narrowly separated from each other medially in brachypterous forms; body length 7.8–8.8 mm; head 0.95 times as long as wide; propleura rounded bluntly with inner propleural projection notched apically; abdominal ventrites without spinelike bristles.................................................................. A. (A.) pradhanae Zettel, 1998
6. Body length not more than 8.5 mm; body width across 3rd abdominal segment ranges within 5.0– 5.2 mm; head broadly rounded and not elongated.............................................................................. 7
- Body length more than 8.5 mm; body width across 3rd abdominal segment 6.2 mm; head slightly produced ahead of eyes; propleura sharply notched with apices of inner propleural projection rounded; male right paramere sinuate, tapering towards apically and left paramere gently curving with tip rounded............................ A. (A.) nathani La Rivers, 1971
7. Body length 7.3–7.9 mm; propleura with pointed tip posteriorly and inner propleural projection acuminate; male right paramere broad sub-medially, gradually tapering towards pointed tip, left paramere broad, curved towards tip................................................................................... A. (A.) narmadaensis Thirumalai, 2008
- Body length 7.8–8.1 mm; propleura notched at 90 degrees, posteromedial corner sharply acuminate; male right paramere with pointed apex and with brush of brown setae laterally, left paramere with mesal surface acetabular................................................................................................ A. (A.) kaygieyess Sites et al., 2011
description: Published as part of 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, pp. 293-299 in Zootaxa 3700 (2) on page 298, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3700.2.7, http://zenodo.org/record/219036