Guide To The Aquatic Heteroptera Of Singapore And Peninsular Malaysia. Xi. Infraorder Nepomorpha- Families Naucoridae And Aphelocheiridae
Author
Polhemus, Dan A.
Author
Polhemus, John T.
text
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
2013
2013-08-30
61
2
665
686
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.5352700
2345-7600
5352700
Heleocoris montandoni
Lundblad, 1933
(
Figs. 25
,
31
)
Heleocoris bengalensis montandoni
Lundblad, 1933: 70
Heleocoris montandoni
:
Chen et al., 2005: 418
Material examined
.
—
SINGAPORE
:
1 male
,
1 female
,
Nee Soon Swamp Forest
,
18 Jun.1994
, coll.
H. K. Lua
et al., NS162A (
ZRC
)
;
1 male
,
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
,
Taban Valley
,
26 Oct.2001
, coll.
M. S. Choy
, CMS0104 (
ZRC
)
;
1 male
,
Pulau Tekong
, fresh water stream,
27 Nov.2001
,
YCM273
(
ZRC
)
;
3 females
,
Nee Soon Swamp Forest
,
3 May 1994
, NS 1279 (
ZRC
)
;
1 male
,
Selatar Reservoir Park
, stream,
10 May 1991
, coll.
C. M. Yang
et al., YKL0753 (
ZRC
)
.
MALAYSIA
,
Penang
:
1 male
,
Sungai Relau
(upper reaches),
Kampung Darat
,
9 Jun.1993
, coll.
H. H. Tan
&
S. H. Tan
, Y848 (
ZRC
)
.
Johor
:
1 male
,
Gunung Pulai
,
20 May 1993
, Y833 (
ZRC
)
.
Perak
:
2 females
, stream
58 km
S. of
Grik
,
19 Aug.1985
, CL 2077, coll. D. A. & J.
T
.
Polhemus
(
JTPC
)
.
Extralimital material examined
.
—
INDONESIA
,
Jambi Prov.
:
2 males
,
Sumatra
,
Jambi
, stream crossing road
40 km
towards
Bajubang
from
Jambi
,
1°47’47”S
,
103°25'23"E
,
24 Jul.1997
, THH9741, coll.
H. H. Tan
(
ZRC
)
.
Riau Islands Prov
.
:
1 male
,
Pulau Bintan
, TT3 (
ZRC
)
;
1 female
,
Pulau Bintan
, TT2 (
ZRC
)
.
Kalimantan Barat Prov.
:
1 male
,
Anambas Is.
[Natuna Archipelago],
S. Pulau Bajau
,
19 Mar.2002
, EA_DW14, coll.
D. Wowor
(
ZRC
)
.
VIETNAM
,
Lam Dong Prov
.
:
1 female
, small stream nr.
Lan Hanh
,
31 km
E. of
Di Linh
,
825 m
.,
11°36'15"N
,
108°19'17"E
, water temp. 24°C,
27 Mar.2001
, coll.
D.A. Polhemus
, J.
T
.
Polhemus
&
P. Nguyen
(
JTPC
)
.
Diagnosis
.
— Length
7.6–9.5 mm
, maximum width (across abdomen)
4.8–5.9 mm
, general body form ovate. Head and pronotum dull yellowish brown, spotted and maculated with dark brown or black; scutellum uniformly dark brown; hemelytra finely rugulose, dark reddish brown, except anterolateral half of embolium translucent yellow, wing membrane black, poorly defined, venation obscure; abdominal laterotergites translucent yellow on anterior three-quarters of each, dark brown on posterior one-quarter of each, creating a striped appearance. This species may recognised by its small size for the genus (body length less than
10 mm
), the predominantly dark hemelytra which lack yellow markings except on the outer section of the embolium, the distinctive male genitalic strucutures (
Fig. 25
), and the shape of the female subgenital plate (
Fig. 31
).
Distribution
.
— Originally described from Sumatra and Java (
Lundblad, 1933
). Sites & Vitheepradit (2011) recorded this taxon (as
H
.
bengalensis montandoni
) from
Thailand
,
Laos
,
Vietnam
,
Malaysia
(
Johor
,
Penang
,
Kedah
),
Singapore
, Java, Sumatra, and Anambas Island. As noted below, there are morphological variations in the male genitalia that suggest multiple species may exist across this geographic range.
Discussion
.
— This is a small
Heleocoris
species
that is widespread in
Singapore
and Peninsular
Malaysia
, occurring amid leaf packs along small streams. It is occasionally syntopic with the superficially similar
Ctenipocoris asiaticus
, but may be easily separated by the characters given in the key to genera of
Laccocorinae
, and discussed further under
C
.
asiaticus
. In particular, the asymmetrical male phallotheca (
Fig. 25
) of
H
.
bengalensis
is quite unlike the symmetrical male phallotheca of
C
.
asiaticus
(
Fig. 18
). The eyes of both species are triangular when viewed from above, but in
H
.
montandoni
they do not fold under the head and reach their greatest point of convergence ventrally, as is the case in
C
.
asiaticus
(
Figs. 16
,
17
).
Heleocoris bengalensis
was described by
Montandon (1910)
from specimens taken in
India
from the Manbhum district of what is now
West Bengal
, immediately west of Calcutta. The populations conforming to the broad concept of
Heleocoris bengalensis
are widely distributed from
India
(
Distant, 1910
;
Montandon, 1910
) eastward through Southeast Asia to the Greater Sunda Islands (
Lundblad, 1933
; Sites & Vitheepradit, 2011). There are subtle localised variations in male genitalic morphology throughout this range, making precise delineation of species concepts challenging.
Lundblad (1933)
considered the populations occurring on Sumatra and Java to be sufficiently distinct from those in
India
and
Ceylon
to warrant separate designation as a variant under the name
H
.
bengalensis montandoni
. We concur with this assessment of regional differentiation, and treat this taxon as a full species herein, following the lead of
Chen et al. (2005
, pg. 418), although Zettel (in litt.) has questioned whether
montandoni
is an available name in the sense of Art. 45.6.4 ICZN. For the present we have assigned here all the specimens so far seen from the Greater Sunda Islands,
Vietnam
,
Singapore
, and Peninsular
Malaysia
. Even within this regional assemblage there is, however, a certain amount of variability in the male genitalic structure. Our examination of specimens from
Singapore
, Anambas Island, and Sumatra reveals small but potentially significant differences in the structure of the parameres and phallotheca, with the shape of the latter structure being most similar in the specimens from the two former areas, while that of the Sumatra specimen is less elongate. The proctigers of the three populations cannot be compared, because they are missing from the vials containing the dissected genitalia of the available Anambas and Sumatra specimens. The shape of this structure is in fact extremely useful in species separation (
Figs. 29, 30
), and it should always be retained for subsequent examination. Overall, the status of species concepts in the
H
.
bengalensis
complex is a problem which requires further detailed study that is beyond the scope of the present work, and it should be anticipated that the taxonomy may be further revised in the future as additional character systems are analysed.