Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2020 | 12(4): 15510–15513

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4745.12.4.15510-15513

#4745 | Received 31 December 2018 | Final received 16 January 2020 | Finally accepted 25 February 2020

 

 

Notes on Ptilomera agriodes (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae)

from Eastern Ghats, India

 

J. Deepa 1, A. Narahari 2, M. Karuthapandi 3, S. Jadhav 4 & C. Shiva Shankar 5

 

1–5 Freshwater Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Hyderabad, Telangana 500048, India.

1 deepajzsi@gmail.com, 2 narahariakkinapelly@gmail.com, 3 kpandi83@gmail.com (corresponding author),

4 shrikantjadhavzsi@gmail.com, 5 cshivashankarchinna@gmail.com

 

 

Editor: Tomas Ditrich, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.  Date of publication: 26 March 2020 (online & print)

 

Citation: Deepa, J., A. Narahari, M. Karuthapandi, S. Jadhav & C.S. Shankar  (2020). Notes on Ptilomera agriodes (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from Eastern Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(4): 15510–15513. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4745.12.4.15510-15513

 

Copyright: © Deepa et al 2020. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are very grateful to the Dr. Kailash Chandra, Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata and Officer-in-Charge, FBRC, ZSI, Hyderabad for providing necessary facilities and constant encouragement.

 

Freshwater Hemiptera commonly known as aquatic bugs are widely distributed in the aquatic ecosystem.  There are 325 species belonging to 84 genera and 18 families reported from India (Basu & Subramanian 2017).  The aquatic bug belongs to the suborder Heteroptera (true bugs), in which infra order Gerromorpha are semi-aquatic bugs living on the surface water.  Gerromorpha include eight families, viz.: Gerridae, Veliidae, Hydrometridae, Hebridae, Hermatobatidae, Paraphrynoveliidae, Macroveliidae, and Mesoveliidae (Damgaard 2008).  Family Gerridae has 26 genera and 93 species in India (Basu & Subramanian 2017), in which genus Ptilomera are large water striders distributed in the aquatic habitats.  Globally, there are 57 species belonging to the genus Ptilomera, in which only six species were documented from India (Jehamalar et al. 2017): Ptilomera agriodes Schmidt, 1926; P. assamensis Hungerford & Matsuda, 1965; P. laticaudata (Hardwicke, 1823);  P. occidentalis Zettel, 2003; P. tigrina Uhler, 1860, and  P. nagalanda Jehamalar & Chandra, 2017. 

Among this P. agriodes was originally described from Tiruchirappalli and Tharangambadi, in the state of Tamil Nadu.  Later it was reported from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Odisha, and Rajasthan by various workers (Thirumalai 2002; Thirumalai et al. 2007; Jehamalar & Chandra 2013; Basu et al. 2015; Jehamalar et al. (2017).  Earlier, Basu et al. (2015) reported P. agriodes only from Devkund waterfall, Mayurbhanj District, Odisha region of Eastern Ghats.  The present study documents P. agriodes extended distribution from different parts of Eastern Ghats regions like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

P. agriodes was collected from the different streams of Eastern Ghats (Table 1, Figure 1).  The specimens were collected by hand-operated insect-nets and preserved in 10% formalin and labeled.  After sorting, the specimens were observed under stereo zoom microscope (Olympus SZX10).  The specimens are deposited at the National Zoological Collection, FBRC/ZSI, Hyderabad.

Material examined: 16 males, 4 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1062, Mallela Theertham waterfall, 20.ix.2018; 3 male, 1 female Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1063, Chinthapaka, Challagadda stream, 10.ix.2018; 8 males, 7 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1064, Thatiguda waterfall, 10.ix.2018; 3 males, 1 female Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1065, Dharmattam waterfall, 11.ix.2018; 4 males, 11 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1066, Yerravaram waterfall, 03.ix.2018; 13males, 8females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1067, Stream at Saraiguda,way to Borra caves, 05.ix.2018;8 males, 4 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1132, Marsila waterfall, 06.i.2019; 3 males, 10 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1133, Malai Palem waterfall, 08.i.2019; 3 males, 2 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1318, Saleswaram, 28.xii.2018; 4 males, 2 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1407, Namma Aruvi waterfall,06.i.2019; 6 males, 8 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1413, Agaya Gangai  waterfall, 6.i.2019; 9 males, 5 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1540, Near Nagalru waterfall, 08.i.2019;  39 males, 35 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1132, Kottachedu Kari Raman Temple, 07.i.2019; 1 male Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1687, Gandahati waterfall, 25.xi.2019; 4 males, 4 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1714, Stream near Bentalbiri, 29.xii.2019; 2 males, 1 female Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1711, Dudum waterfall, 29.xii.2019; 1 male, 6 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1712, Lassari forest waterfall, 03.i.2020; 3 males, 6 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1709, Stream near Kasipatnam, 27.xii.2019; 1 male Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1710, Stream near Daringbadi, 04.i.2020; 4 males, 13 females Exs, FBRC/ZSI/INS/1707, Stream near Andaanda, 05.i.2020.

Diagnostic features:  Body length of the male is 13–14 mm; Female 11–12 mm.  Surface of the body is dark brown to yellow brown in color.  Eyes are large reddish-brown to black and broadly rounded.  First antennal segment is larger than combining length 2–4.  Rostrum is short, male mid femur fringe of black setae. Length of male abdomen 6mm, paramere curved and contains setae.  Hind legs are longer than body length; spine-like lateral process of the pygophore extended well the lateral process of the proctiger.  The posteromedian margin of the proctiger is bisinuate.

 

Table 1. Collections location of Ptilomera agriodes from different parts of Eastern Ghat regions, India.

 

Locations

District

State

Latitude (N)

Longitude (E)

1

Challagadda stream

Vishakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

18.054

82.947

2

Stream near Thatiguda waterfall

Vishakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

18.226

83.007

3

Stream near Muliguda, way to Borra cave

Vishakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

18.263

83.031

4

Dharamattam waterfall

Vishakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

17.712

82.478

5

Yerravaram waterfall

Vishakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh

17.754

82.476

6

Stream near Bentalbiri

Koraput

Odisha

18.568

82.499

7

Dudum waterfall

Koraput

Odisha

18.519

82.454

8

Lassari forest waterfall

Kandhamal

Odisha

19.717

83.656

9

Stream near lower side of Daringbadi

Kandhamal

Odisha

19.849

84.272

10

Gandahati waterfall

Ganjam

Odisha

18.890

84.270

11

Stream near Andaanda

Ganjam

Odisha

19.031

84.388

12

Marsila waterfall

Nammakal

Tamil Nadu

11.308

78.394

13

Stream near Malaipalem

Salem

Tamil Nadu

11.822

78.214

14

Namma Aruvi waterfall

Nammakal

Tamil Nadu

11.289

78.365

15

Agaya Gangai waterfall

Nammkal

Tamil Nadu

11.267

78.395

16

Stream near Kottachedu, Kari Raman Temple

Salem

Tamil Nadu

11.831

78.272

17

Mallela Theertham waterfall, Nallamala Forest

Mahabubnagar

Telangana

16.266

78.856

18

Saleswaram

Mahabubnagar

Telangana

16.189

78.639

 

 

For figure & image - - click here

 

References

 

Basu, S., G. Thirumalai, K.A. Subramanian & G.K. Saha (2015). New records of aquatic and semi aquatic Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) from West Bengal and Odisha. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 115(Part 2): 191–201.

Basu, S. & K.A. Subramanian (2017).  Insecta: Hemiptera (Aquatic Bugs) (Chapter 23), pp. 357–378. In: Chandra, K., K.C. Gopi, D.V. Rao, K. Valarmathi & J.R.B. Alfrad (eds.). Current Status of Freshwater Faunal Diversity in India. Published by Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

Damgaard, J. (2008). Phylogeny of the semiaquatic bugs (Hemiptera-Heteroptera, Gerromorpha). Insect Systematics & Evolution 39(4): 431–460.

Jehamalar, E.E & K. Chandra (2013). On a collection of aquatic and semi-aquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from Chhattisgarh, India. Records of the Zoological Survey of  India 113(Part 1): 183–195.

Jehamalar E.E., K. Chandra, S. Basu & C. Selvakumar (2017). Review of Ptilomera (Ptilomera) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Gerridae) from India with description of a new species. Zootaxa 4370(5): 501–518.

Thirumalai, G. (2002). A checklist of Gerromorpha (Hemiptera) from India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 100 (1–2): 55–97.

Thirumalai, G., R.M. Sharma & K. Chandra (2007). A checklist of aquatic and semiaquatic Hemiptera (Insecta) of Madhya Pradesh. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 107(Part–4): 71–91.

 

 

Erratum

 

Citation: Schaffer, N.E., M. Agil & Z.Z. Zainuddin (2020). Ramifications of reproductive diseases on the recovery of the Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae). Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(3): 15279–15288. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5390.12.3.15279-15288

 

Page #15281, 

 

Table 1. line Stud Book #40 last box in row reads:  N. Schaffer                           Should read: N. Schaffer

                                                                                                     P.  Kretzschmar                                          T. Hildebrandt