Heteroptera (Hemiptera) of the Socotra Archipelago I: Introduction, Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha and Leptopodomorpha

Abstract: This contribution is the first part of a series designed to summarize the present knowledge on the fauna of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of the Socotra Archipelago. A review of aquatic, semiaquatic and shore bugs of the infraorders Nepomorpha, Gerromorpha, and Leptopodomorpha of Socotra is provided. Nine families and 19 species are recorded from the Socotra Island (including two marine off-shore species). The following new species and new records are given: Micronecta eupompe Hutchinson, 1930 (Micronectidae), Sigara hoggarica Poisson, 1929 (Corixidae), Hebrus kanyukovae sp. nov., Hebrus sp. (Hebridae), Microvelia gracillima Reuter, 1882, M. macani Brown, 1953 (Veliidae), Limnogonus cereiventris (Signoret, 1862) (Gerridae), Micracanthia ornatula (Reuter, 1881), and Saldula niveolimbata (Reuter, 1900) (Saldidae). The following new faunistic records are also provided: Micronecta eupompe from Burkina Faso, Anisops varius from Jordan and Rwanda, Mesovelia vittigera Horváth, 1895 (Mesoveliidae) from Mali, Micracanthia ornatula from Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Zambia, China (Sichuan), and Bangladesh, and Saldula niveolimbata from Mali. The status of the type specimens is discussed and corrected for Anisops varius var. scutellata Fieber, 1851 (syntypes), Anisops varius var. sugillata Fieber, 1851 (lectotype), Anisops hoggarica Poisson, 1929 (syntypes), Halobates germanus White, 1883 (lectotype), Halobates sewelli Imms, 1936 (lectotype), Limnogous leptocerus (Reuter, 1882) (lectotype), and Microvelia gracillima Reuter, 1882 (holotype versus neotype).

Key words: Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerromorpha, Leptopodomorpha, Nepomorpha, faunistics, new record, new species, Socotra, Yemen, Afrotropical Region, Palaearctic Region