Pseudovelia vittiformis Ye, Polhemus & Bu, 2013, sp. n.
Creators: name: Ye, Zhen
name: Polhemus, Dan A.
name: Bu, Wenjun
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Macroveliidae
Pseudovelia
Pseudovelia vittiformis

description: Pseudovelia vittiformis sp. n.
(Figs. 10, 23, 31, 47, 59, 70, 83, 95, 107, 119, 131)
Material examined. Holotype: apterous male, CHINA, Hainan Prov., Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County, Yinggeling Mountain Nature Reserve, 2 December 2010, Zhen Ye leg (NKUM). Paratypes: CHINA, Hainan Prov.: 3 apterous males, 5 apterous females, same data as holotype (NKUM); 2 apterous males, 2 apterous females, Wuzhishan city, Wuzhishan Mountain Nature Reserve, 15 April 2009, 700– 800 m, Kelong Jiao leg. (NKUM); 2 apterous males, 3 apterous females, Wuzhishan city, Wuzhishan Mountain Nature Reserve, Zhandao, 9 December 2010, Zhen Ye leg. (NKUM).
Description. Apterous male (Fig. 10). Colour: ground colour black and brown, head almost black, clypeus dark brown; labrum black, rostrum orange with black apex, buccula brown; basal part of antennal segment I orange, apical part dark, segments II–IV blackish brown; area behind head along anterior margin of pronotum with a distinctly dark yellow transverse band, posterior part of pronotum with dense, black spots; legs mainly brown, basal part of femur yellowish, with apices of femur and tibia weakly infuscated, tarsus black; abdomen mainly blackish brown, connexiva dark orange, lateral parts of mediotergite I, all of mediotergites II and III, medial parts of mediotergites VI and VII with prominent silvery pubescence; segment VIII, pygophore and proctiger yellowish, each of them apically weakly infuscated. Structural characteristics: body length: 2.72–2.75 (holotype: 2.74), medium-sized, slightly slender, rather stout, bearing short, suberect, grayish hairs, area around the eyes and antennal segment I covered by relatively fewer, longer, suberect, grayish hairs. Head short and wide, width: 0.62–0.64, length: 0.39–0.41, head width about 1.58 times head length, relatively perpendicular, posterior margin nearly straight and inserted into medially concave anterior margin of pronotum; labrum angular, buccula clearly visible, but not produced posteriorly; eyes bare except for the presence of two ocular setae; antenna about 0.7 times as long as body, lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.6, 0.4, 0.4, 0.51. Pronotum relatively broad, width: 0.84–0.86, length: 0.51–0.53, about 1.63 times as wide as long; bearing dense, dark punctures on the posterior portion of pronotal lobe, hind pronotal margin rounded, with anterior margin slightly emarginated; metanotum completely hidden beneath pronotal lobe except laterally. Legs with fore tibia (Figs. 23, 31) widened on apical part, covered with dense, suberect, short setae, medial part of venter with slight process, length of grasping comb 0.38, about 0.5 times fore tibia length (Fig. 31); apical portion of venter on middle femur with scattered relatively long, suberect hairs (Fig. 47); hind tibia (Fig. 59) straight, with dense, short, decumbent hairs, hind tarsal segments I and II subequal in length, basal part of venter on hind tarsal segment I with a tuft of black bristles (Figs. 59, 70), ventral arolium bristle-like; lengths of leg segments (femur, tibia and tarsus): fore leg: 0.8, 0.78 and 0.41, middle leg: 1.02, 1.0 and 0.59 (0.2+0.39), hind leg: 1.17, 1.15 and 0.68 (0.33+0.35). Abdomen with mediotergites almost flat, connexival segments IV–VI approximately rectangular, slightly raised; mediotergites II–VI subequal in length; abdominal venter flat, medially slightly concave. Genital segments: relatively large, segment VIII (Figs. 83, 95, 107, 119) about 1.8 times as long as wide, posterior margin with long, sparse, suberect, blackish brown hairs, bearing a subtriangular depression ventrally, hind margin of this depression with a pair (1+1) of processes with tufts of short, black hairs, lateral part of depression with spine-like short setae; lateral part of pygophore (Fig. 131) with a cluster of slender, brown hairs, posterior margin of pygophore with short, erect, black hairs; proctiger small, with rather blunt apex, posterior margin with rather short, erect, black hairs; paramere symmetrical, small, sticklike, with rounded, widened apex.
Apterous female. Body medium-sized, slightly larger than male, body length: 2.89–2.92; structure of head including antenna as in male, width: 0.62–0.64, length: 0.42–0.44, head width about 1.47 times head length, antenna about 0.6 times as long as body, lengths of antennal segments I–IV: 0.57, 0.38, 0.35, 0.45; hind margin of pronotum straight, pronotum width: 0.84–0.86, pronotum length: 0.49–0.51, about 1.7 times as wide as long; fore tibia without grasping comb, hind tibia and tarsus not modified, venter of hind tarsal segment I without a row or cluster of bristles; lengths of leg segments (femur, tibia and tarsus): fore leg: 0.80, 0.75 and 0.40, middle leg: 1.00, 0.95 and 0.59 (0.22+0.39), hind leg: 1.08, 1.15 and 0.62 (0.24+0.38); abdomen pleurally and ventrally without special modifications, connexiva relatively broad, slightly raised, converging posteriorly and touching caudally; end of abdomen raised in lateral view, gonocoxa I elongate, proctiger blackish brown, directly slight updip, with dense, short hairs.
Macropterous female and macropterous male: unknown.
Etymology. The specific epithet “ vittiformis ” (from Latin, meaning band-shaped) refers to the structure of the anterior margin of the pronotum adjoining the head, which bears a distinctly dark yellow transverse band.
Diagnosis. Pseudovelia vittiformis sp. n. is closely related to P. taiwanensis sp. n. based on the similar structure of abdominal ventrite VIII in both species. However, P. vittiformis sp. n. can be distinguished by its much larger body size, with the body length 2.72–2.75 in the male (whereas in P. taiwanensis sp. n. the male body length is 2.05–2.09); by the distinctly convex medial portion of the venter on the fore tibia (Fig. 31); and by the apical half of the venter on the middle femur bearing long, blackish brown hairs (Fig. 47).
Distribution. China (Hainan) (Fig. 138).
FIGURES 1 – 7. Habitus of Pseudovelia spp. (males). 1. P. a n t h r a c i n a sp. n.; 2. P. c o n t o r t a sp. n.; 3. P. e x t e n s a sp. n.; 4. P. fulva sp. n.; 5. P. globosa sp. n.; 6. P. h s i a o i sp. n.; 7. P. longiseta sp. n.. Scale 1.0 mm.
Key to the species of Pseudovelia occurring in China Based on apterous males
1. Eyes densely hairy; ventral arolium leaflike flattened.......................... Pseudovelia longitarsa Andersen, 1983
- Eyes bare except for two ocular setae; ventral arolium bristle-like............................................... 2
2. Ventral lobe of buccula strongly produced posteriorly.......................................................... 3
- Ventral lobe of buccula not produced posteriorly............................................................. 4
3. Body relatively large, length 2.75–2.81; apical half of venter on middle femur with a row of long, erect, brown hairs (Fig. 44); hind tarsus much longer than hind tibia, hind tarsal segment I longest and slightly curved, about 1.24 times hind tibia, with a tuft of more than 5 very long, black bristles arising from the basal part (Figs. 56, 73)................... P. longiseta sp. n.
- Body relatively small, length 2.01–2.04; venter of middle femur without any long, erect, brown hairs; hind tarsus normal, shorter than hind tibia, hind tarsal segment I about 0.21 times hind tibia, without any long bristles arising from basal part (Figs. 60, 71)............................................................................ P. pusilla Hecher, 1997
4. Medial portion of venter on fore tibia with distinct process; lateral portion of hind tibia with a row of black, ossifying, short spines............................................................................................... 5
- Medial portion of venter on fore tibia flat or slightly convex, lacking process; lateral portion of hind tibia without any black, ossifying, short spines.................................................................................. 7
5. Body relatively small, length about 2.29–2.32; ground colour yellowish brown; hind tarsal segment I curved (Fig. 63).............................................................................................. P. contorta sp. n.
- Body relatively large, length at least 2.5; ground colour blackish brown; hind tarsal segment I normal, not curved.........6
6. Legs stout; the medial portion of venter on middle femur with a relatively large area of dense, long, black bristle-like hairs (Fig. 45); hind margin of pygophore blunt (Fig. 129); abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 81, 93, 105, 117)........................................................................................ P. piliformis sp. n.
- Legs relatively slender; the medial portion of venter on middle femur without an area of dense, long, black bristle-like hairs; hind margin of pygophore gradually pointed (Fig. 124); abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 76, 88, 100, 112)........................................................................................ P. extensa sp. n.
7. Middle tibia with a tuft of stout bristles near apex on anterior margin (Fig. 49); pygophore and segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 85, 97, 109, 121, 133)....................................... P. tibialis tibialis Esaki & Miyamoto,1955
- Middle tibia without a tuft of stout bristles near apex on anterior margin.......................................... 8
8. Hind tarsal segment I of male extremely short, almost globose (Fig. 66); pygophore and abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 78, 90, 102, 114, 126)......................................................... P. globosa sp. n.
- Hind tarsal segment I of male not unusually short............................................................ 9
9. Hind tarsal segment I of male about 1/2 length hind tarsal segment II; abdominal segment VIII of male without any spine-like processes or tubercles ventrally (Figs. 77, 89, 101, 113).............................................. P. f u lv a sp. n.
- Hind tarsal segment I of male> 2/3 length hind tarsal segment II; abdominal segment VIII of male with spine-like processes or tubercles ventrally.................................................................................... 10
10. Body length more than 2.72; apical half of venter on middle femur with relatively dense, long hairs; pygophore and abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 83, 95, 107, 119, 131)................................... P. vittiformis sp. n.
- Body length less than 2.25; the apical half of venter on middle femur without relatively dense, long hairs............... 11
11. Body stout, almost oval; connexiva blackish; pygophore and abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 74, 86, 98, 110, 122)............................................................................. P. anthracina sp. n.
- Body relatively slender; connexiva yellowish.............................................................. 12
12. Ground colour yellowish brown; a row of bristles occupying the entire ventral margin of hind tarsal segment I (Fig. 67); pygophore and abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 79, 91, 103, 115, 127).................... P. hsiaoi sp. n.
- Ground colour blackish brown; a tuft of bristles arising from the basal part of hind tarsal segment I (Fig. 69); pygophore and abdominal segment VIII of male as illustrated (Figs. 82, 94, 106, 118, 130)........................ P. taiwanensis sp. n.
description: Published as part of Ye, Zhen, Polhemus, Dan A. & Bu, Wenjun, 2013, A taxonomic contribution to the genus Pseudovelia Hoberlandt, 1951 (Hemiptera: Veliidae) from China, with descriptions of ten new species, pp. 290-318 in Zootaxa 3636 (2) on pages 302-317, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3636.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/217240