Two New Genera of Gerridae with the Description of a New Species

Author(s): Herbert B. Hungerford and Ryuichi Matsuda

Source: Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society, Vol. 31, No. 2 (Apr., 1958), pp. 113-117
Published by: Allen Press on behalf of Kansas (Central States) Entomological Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25082280
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 Vol. 31, No. 2, April, 1958 113

Dufour, L. 1832. Description et figure du Caeculus echinipes, Arachnide nouvelle. Ann.

Sei. Nat., Zool., 25:289, 3 figs.
Mulaik, Stanley. 1945. New Mites in the Family Caeculidae. Bull. Univ. Utah, 35:1-23,
55 fiss
Mulaik, Stanley and Dorald M. Allred. 1954. New Species and Distribution Records of
the Genus Caeculus in North America (Acari?a, Caeculidae). Proc. Ent. Soc.
Washington, 56:27-40, 23 figs.
Nevin, F. Reese. 1943. Caeculus pettiti, a New Species of Mite from Virginia. Ann. Ent.
Soc. Amer., 36:389-393, 2 figs.
-. 1945. Immature forms of the mite, Caeculus pettiti, Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer.,
38:195-198, 5 figs.

TWO NEW GENERA OF GERRIDAE WITH THE

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES
Herbert B. Hungerford and Ryuichi Matsuda1

In our of the we discovered

study Tenagogonus-Limnometra complex
that the five of the Western to
species Hemisphere assigned Tenagogonus
are not with either 1855, or Limnometra
congeneric Tenagogonus St?l,
Mayr, 1865. The senior author in a paper at the International Con
given
gress of Entomology in Montreal in August, 1956, this fact and
reported
stated that these New World forms would be given a new name.
generic
We submitted this paper for publication in April, 1957. However, before it

appeared, Dr. C. J. Drake (October 4, 1957) proposed the new genus name

Tachyognus for these insects and since this name was he

preoccupied
proposed (December 31, 1957) the name Tachygerris with T. adamsoni
as the type Since he gave neither nor
(Drake) species. drawings descrip
tion of Tachygerris we are Drake for the
simply substituting Tachygerris
name we were and accepting T. adamsoni as the type
proposing (Drake)
of the genus instead of Limnometra a better
quadrilineata Champion,
known species.
Tachygerris Drake
Tachygonus Drake, C. J. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 70:111, 1957.
Tachygerris Drake, C. J. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 70:193, 1957.
Type species of the genus: Tachygerris adamsoni Drake.
Rather slender', macropterous with short hairs on the
gerrids golden
hemelytra, which have the veins R and M some distance
separating beyond
their junction with subcosta 2.2

1
Contribution No. 969, Department of Entomology, University of Kansas. This study
was made possible with the aid of a grant from the National Science Foundation.
2
We can find no precedent for naming the vein we are calling subcosta 2. It is
shown but not named by Tanaka and Hoke. Its direction makes it unlikely that it is Ri.
Unfortunately also the axillary sclerites of the adult gerrids do not connect with the bases
of the veins to give us clues to the correct naming of the veins. The names we have used
therefore must be tentative. Reference to the above mentioned papers are as follows:
Tanaka, T. 1926. Homologies of the wing veins of the Hemiptera. Annot. Zool. Tokyo,
Japan. 2:33-53. Hoke, S. 1926. Preliminary paper on the wing venation of the Hemip
tera. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 19:13-34.
 114 Journal of Kansas Entomological Society

The pronotum is marked a median line on the anterior lobe,

by pale
and the anterior lobe, meso- and metaacetabula are clothed with conspicuous
silvery sericeous spots above. The is reduced, on a
omphalium longitudinal
keel, and is nearly one third the length of the metasternum from its posterior
The abdominal are located midway between of
margin. spiracles margins
each segment. The last ventral abdominal segment of the female is longer
than The antennae are as as
any preceding segment. long and slender, long
the body in some the first segment is curved, a little stouter
species; slightly
and longer than the second segment, and is not as long as the fourth which
is the longest. The beak is slender, one half the length of
reaching nearly
the mesosternum. The front femora are slender, curved in the male,
plainly
curved in the female, a little stouter than the middle femora; the
slightly
front tarsal segments are the middle and hind are
subequal; legs moderately
long, the middle femur is not as long as the body.
This new
genus can be distinguished from and
easily Tenagogonus
Limnometra by the distinct wing venation, short hairs scattered in
golden
basal half of the hemelytra, and by the location and higher degree of re
duction of the omphalium. Thus far no apterous forms are known in this
genus although rarely brachypterous forms with venations
complete wing
occur.

It includes the five were out

species which keyed by Louis Kuitert under
the genus Tenagogonus in 1942 Univ.
| of Kansas Science Bulletin vol.

28(7): 131-132 |, namely T. celocis

Tachygerris quadrilineatus (Champ.),
(D. and H.), T. spinulatus T. opacus T. duolineatus
(Kuitert), (Champ.),
which Drake says is a synonym of T. adamsoni and a
(Kuitert) (Drake),
new one a female from "Suriname."
represented by single specimen

surinamensis n. sp.
Tachygerris
(PI. I, C; PI. II, C, D)
Size: female 6.7 mm.; width across mesoace
Winged holotype, length
tabula 2.0 mm.; width across head 1.3 mm.
Color: Pale brownish above, with pattern of darker lines very faint;
the a little darker; as in L. celocis (D. and
hemelytra general appearance
H.) and L. opacus (Champ.).
Structural characteristics: The relative lengths of antennal segments:
lst:2nd:3rd:4th are 57:40:73:130. The relative length of the total length of
the antenna to the body is 6.3 mm.:6.7 mm. The relative of the front
lengths
tarsal:2nd tarsal are 100:80:17:16; the middle
leg segments:femur:tibia:1st
femur is 235, other are gone; the hind femur is 223, other seg
segments
ments are gone. The antennae are slender, and the third and fourth seg
ments are the The terminal connexival are short. The last
longest. spines
ventral abdominal segment (7th with three projecting
pregenital segment)
on its caudal is as shown in PL II, C.
angles margin
notes: Known A
Comparative only by the female holotype. comparison
of figure C of plate II with the figures on plate X of Kuitert's paper will
this As in T. opacus T. celocis (D. and H.) and
identify species. (Champ.),
and T. the third antennal segment is plainly longer
spinulatus (Kuitert)
than the first. Its nearest relative appears to be T. opacus (Champ.)
 Vol. 31, No. 2, April, 1958 115

Plate I
A. Gigantometra gigas (China). B. Tachygerris duolineatus (Kuitert). C. Tachy
gerris surinamensis Hungerford and Matsuda.
 116 Journal of Kansas Entomological Society

Sc PHMtCu Scx R+M

Plate II
A. The forewing of Limnometra ciliata Mayr. B. The forewing of Tenagogonus albo
vittatus St?l. C. The last ventral abdominal segment of Tachygerris surinamensis
Hungerford and Matsuda. D. The antenna of Tachygerris surinamensis Hungerford and
Matsuda. E. The forewing of Tachygerris quadrilineatus (Champion). F. The meso
and metasterna of Gigantometra gigas (China) showing the omphalium at a and the
scent gland channels leading to lateral orifices that are guarded by hair tufts at b.
 Vol. 31, No. 2, April, 1958 117
n. gen.
Gigantometra
Type species of the genus: Limnometra gigas China 1925
(PI. I, A; PI. H, F)
This new genus is proposed for the above because it possesses
species
a reduced with lateral channels that lead to raised scent
omphalium gland
openings guarded by hairs in front of the metaacetabula. This is a charac
ter we have found to be of generic The antennae are shorter
significance.
than the body, about 22 mm. long
to 35 mm. for the body. The
compared
middle and hind femora are much than the and the hind
longer body, legs,
because of the unusual of the tibiae, are than the
length considerably longer
middle The have a venation like Limnometra. The
legs. hemelytra wing
abdominal are closer to the anterior than to the
spiracles margin
posterior
of each segment as in Limnometra.
No or Limnometra has
Tenagogonus
the hind nor do lateral scent con
legs longest they possess gland openings
nected to the omphalium. The line sets this
pale longitudinal pronotal
from any Limnometra or of the Far East
species apart Tenagogonus species
for they all have a black line. In this respect it is like Tenagogonus longi
cofnis Poisson from Africa with which it is not congeneric.
Dr. China placed this gigantic gerrid, which dwarfs all others, in
Limnometra Mayr. His specimen is a male from "Tonkin, Thai-Nien, basin
It is 34 mm. us a male
of Fleuve Rouge 1924." long. We have before from
"Ta Han, Hainan Island" that is 35 mm. long and has middle femora that
are 50 mm. Since it is from across the Gulf of Tonkin from where
long.
Dr. China's was taken and fits his description we believe it to
specimen
be the same We were at once the and its
species. impressed by omphalium
lateral channels that lead to lateral scent
gland openings. Dr. China kindly
reexamined the type for us and wrote "We have examined the type speci
men of Limnometra and found that it possesses the lateral tufts of
gigas
hairs at the end of what appears to be scent channels from
gland leading
the omphalium although the connection between the latter and the hind
acetabula is extremely indistinct." In our specimen it is very distinct. Since
the hind tarsus is missing on the type we the length of the segments of
give
us: femur,
the hind legs in the specimen before 48 mm., tibia 75 mm., 1st
tarsal segment 2.95 mm., 2nd tarsal segment .84 mm. We have found that
there is considerable variation in the of the
and
leg segments
proportions
the antennae in Limnometra-like gerrids.there may
Moreover, be con
siderable sexual for example, we
two males have
of T.
dimorphism; longi
cornis Poisson in which the first segment of the antenna is nearly as as
long
the insect and two females with the first: segment not the humeri.
reaching
Such have us to find characters that have at
problems challenged stability
least at the generic level.