Aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera (Nepomorpha and Gerromorpha) fauna of Greek holiday islands (Rhodes, Crete and Corfu) with first records of three species from Europe and Greece

Abstract

A comprehensive survey on aquatic and semiaquatic bugs (Heteroptera: Nepomorpha and Gerromorpha) of three Greek holiday islands, Rhodes, Crete and Corfu, was conducted from 2007 to 2010 at 237 localities. In this paper, hundreds of detailed records for 30 taxa in nine families are given. The occurrences of Rhagovelia infernalis africana Lundblad, 1936 and Velia mariae Tamanini, 1971 are confirmed and recorded for the first time from Europe sensu stricto. Additionally, some notes on morphology, taxonomy and distribution of the European species of Rhagovelia and Velia are also given, Velia mariae is recorded for the first time not only from several Greek islands, but from continental Greece and Bulgaria as well. Gerris asper (Fieber, 1860), a common European species, was also found for the first time in Greece. Furthermore, new occurrence data are given for endemic taxa; Sigara nigrolineata mendax Heiss & Jansson, 1986 and Velia rhadamantha rhadamantha Hoberlandt, 1941 (whose distribution is restricted to Crete and small adjacent islands) are very common throughout Crete, whereas Ilyocoris cimicoides jonicus (Lindberg, 1922) apparently is rare in Corfu.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the West‐Palaearctic Velia (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae)

“…These morphological similarities caused confusion in the identification of both species until the recent clarification by Csabai et al . (). Further molecular, morphological and ecological studies and additional sampling are necessary to elucidate the taxonomic status of Velia (P.) sp.…”

“…(P.) mancinii mancinii and V . (P.) mariae occur both in south‐eastern Europe and westernmost Anatolia (Tamanini, ; Fent et al ., ; Csabai et al ., ).…”

“…The maximum clade credibility tree from the BEAST analysis was used as input. We defined the following geographical regions based on the current distribution knowledge of Velia (Andersen, ; Csabai et al ., ): A, Madeira Islands; B, Canary Islands; C, northwestern Africa (Maghreb); D, Iberian Peninsula; E, Balearic Islands; F, Europe mainland (excluding the southern peninsulas); G, Sardinia and Corsica Islands; H, Italian Peninsula (including Sicily and Provence); I, Balkan Peninsula; J, Crete; K, Cyprus; L, Anatolia; M, Caucasus; and N, Middle East and Central Asia.…”

“…(P.) affinis Kolenati has the widest distribution range, occurring from the Italian Peninsula to Pakistan and northwestern India (Tamanini, ). The major Mediterranean islands as well as Madeira and Canaries are usually inhabited by endemic species (Tamanini, , , , ; Csabai et al ., ). The majority of the other taxa are restricted to the Iberian, Italian and Balkan peninsulas, and to northwestern Africa (Maghreb), which are well known as biodiversity hotspots and glacial refugia for Western Palaearctic biotas (Hewitt, ; Husemann et al ., ).…”

“…The phylogeny and biogeography of Velia are poorly known due to a scarcity of data (both distributional and molecular) and the morphological similarity among its species, which not only hampered routine identifications (Berchi & Kment, ; Csabai et al ., ), but also limited the use of morphological characters in a cladistic context. Due to the high number of taxa and considerable endemism in the geomorphologically complex Mediterranean region, Velia is nevertheless a suitable candidate for biogeographical studies.…”