Four new genera of Mesoveliidae (Hemiptera, Gerromorpha) and the phylogeny and classification of the family

Abstract

AbstractCryptovelia terrestris n. gen., n. sp. (Brazil), Darwinivelia fosteri n. gen., n. sp. (Galapagos Is.), Mniovelia kuscheli n. gen., n. sp. (New Zealand), and Cavaticovelia n. gen. (type-species: Speovelia aaa Gagné & Howarth, 1975; Hawaii) are described. The phylogenetic relationships between the mesoveliid genera are discussed in the light of characters revealed by the new taxa. Habitat preferences of mesoveliids include humid terrestrial and/or marginal aquatic habitats, which probably are the most ancestral, and lava-tubes, coastal caves, intertidal marine habitats, and the plant-covered freshwater surface, which probably are the derived kinds of habitats. A classification of the Mesoveliidae with a check list of genera and species is presented. Two subfamilies are recognized: Madeoveliinae (with two genera) and Mesoveliinae (seven genera). The biogeography of the Mesoveliidae is finally discussed.