Ranatra biroi Lundblad 1933
Creators: name: Tran, A. D.
name: Zettel, H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Nepidae
Ranatra
Ranatra biroi

description: Key to species of the Ranatra biroi group   
 1. Body length at most 19.5 mm; paramere with short apical hook, tip of apical hook similar to tip of fish hook with a broad barb......................................................... R. titilaensis (p. 519)   
– Body length about 20.0 mm or greater; paramere not modified as above...................................................................................2  
2. Body length excluding siphon around 28.0–30.0 mm (males), 28.5–33.0 mm (females); eye width much greater than interocular space, around 1.4–1.5× interocular width............3  
– Body length excluding siphon around 19.9–27.0 mm (males), 21.8–29.0 mm (females); eye width around 0.9–1.3× interocular width........................................................................................4  
 3. Space between middle coxae subequal to space between hind coxae; hind femur slightly surpassing anterior margin of operculum................................................ R. flagellata (p. 509)   
 – Space between middle coxae clearly narrower than space between hind coxae; hind femur reaching to about half of operculum.................................................. R. digitata (p. 509)   
4. Paramere with pointed tooth-like elevation on inner margin of apical hook (Figs. 1B–E, 2G).................................................5  
– Paramere without pointed tooth on inner margin of apical hook.........................................................................................8  
5. Posterior margin of metasternum straight or slightly concave; paramere with inner margin of apical hook with acute toothlike elevation, tip of apical hook distinctly expanded (Figs. 1B, 2G)...........................................................................................6  
– Posterior margin of metasternum convex; paramere with inner margin of apical hook with obtuse tooth-like elevation, tip of hook not strongly expanded (Fig. 1C–E)...............................7  
 6. Vertex usually lower than eye, thus not visible in lateral view; basal part of fore femur slender, about 1.2× as wide as distal part; posterior margin of metasternum straight................................................................................................ R. biroi (p. 510)   
 – Vertex higher than eye, visible in lateral view (Fig. 2C); basal part of fore femur broader, about 1.5× as wide as distal part; posterior margin of metasternum slightly concave........................................................... R. luzonensis, new species (p. 513)   
 7. Posterior margin of metasternum clearly convex; hind femur reaching only anterior third of operculum............................................................................................ R. natunaensis (p. 510)   
 – Posterior margin of metasternum only slightly convex; hind femur reaching or surpassing apex of abdomen........................................................................................... R. rafflesi (p. 510)   
8. Ventral margin of paramere with low elevation or low process before apical hook, apical hook broadly curved or inner space of hook wide............................................................................9  
– Ventral margin of paramere without process before apical hook, apical hook strongly recurved and inner space of apical hook narrower.................................................................................13  
 9. Posterior margin of metasternum convex; paramere medially broadened, apical hook circular (evenly curved) (Fig. 4B, C)....................................................... R. cardamomensis (p. 519)   
– Posterior margin of metasternum straight or slightly emarginated; paramere more slender, apical hook more strongly recurved at base, distal part of hook finger-like......................................10  
 10. Paramere with distal third gradually tapering towards apical hook, dorsal margin almost straight.............. R. recta (p. 514)   
– Paramere with distal part dorso-ventrally constricted, thus dorsal margin concave distally........................................................11  
 11. Paramere with pre-apical elevation on ventral margin angular, tip of apical hook narrowly rounded; hind femur only reaching about anterior half of operculum................. R. incisa (p. 514)   
– Paramere with pre-apical elevation broad and blunt, tip of apical hook slightly expanded; hind femur nearly reaching apex of operculum or connexivum....................................................12  
 12. Paramere with tip of apical hook truncate; space between middle coxae distinctly narrower than space between hind coxae........................................................................... R. nieseri (p. 514)   
 – Paramere with tip of apical hook evenly rounded (Fig. 3F); space between middle coxae about as wide as space between hind coxae................... R. palawanensis, new species (p. 514)   
 13. Paramere with apical hook slender, gap between hook and main part very narrow, tip of hook narrow.................................................................................................... R. libera (p. 519)   
– Paramere with apical hook shorter and thicker, gap between hook and main part wider, tip of hook broadened...............14  
 14. Vertex without tubercle; space between middle coxae wide, about 1.6× space between hind coxae; metepisternum with small tufts of setae................. R. longipes celebensis (p. 517)   
– Vertex usually with low conical tubercle; space between middle coxae narrower than space between hind coxae; metepisternum without small tufts of setae...................................................15  
 15. Paramere with incipient obtuse elevation on inner margin of hook (Fig. 4A)........................... R. longipes longipes (p. 516)   
 – Paramere without incipient obtuse elevation on inner margin of hook.............................................................. R. thai (p. 518)
description: Published as part of Tran, A. D. & Zettel, H., 2021, Taxonomy of the Ranatra biroi group sensu Lansbury, 1972 (Nepomorpha: Nepidae), with descriptions of two new species, pp. 507-521 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 69 on pages 508-509, DOI: 10.26107/RBZ-2021-0068, http://zenodo.org/record/7174619