Aquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) diversity of two Tiger Reserves state Telangana, India

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2435407/v1

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Aquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) diversity of two Tiger Reserves state Telangana, India

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2435407/v1

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The diversity and distribution of aquatic Hemipterans were studied from Amrabad and Kawal Tiger Reserve of state Telangana. This reportdocuments 38 species of aquatic hemipterans belonging to 22 genera and 10 families from Amrabad and Kawal Tiger Reserve. Interestingly, 20 species were noted as additions to the state of Telangana with two species Ranatra libera Zettel, 1999 and Rhagovelia sumatrensis Lundblad, 1933 were observed, where the first one is the new distributional record to Deccan peninsula and latter one from southern India. Global distribution map also presented here in this article. Kawal Tiger Reserve has high species diversity than the Amrabad tiger Reserve. The present report is the first documentation from both tiger reserves on aquatic hemipterans from the state of Telangana.

Taxonomy

Entomology

ATR

KTR

Aquatic Hemiptera

Diversity

New distributional records

India

Aquatic hemipterans are one of the most diverse fauna in the aquatic ecosystem and are belong to the suborder Heteroptera (true bugs). According to their habitat preferences further it has been classified into Gerromorpha (semiaquatic bugs) live on the water surface, Nepomorpha (true aquatic bugs) live submerged in fresh water bodies and most Leptopodomorpha (shore bugs) live at the margins of the water bodies (Chandra et al. 2017). Globally, there are more than 4800 species belonging to 343 genera and 22 families have been reported, of which 4656 species belonging to 326 genera and 20 families comprise freshwater bugs (Polhemus, 2008). In India, there are nearly 350 species of aquatic hemipterans reported till now (Jehamala and Chandra, 2020).

Telangana state situated on the Deccan Plateau of Peninsular India. The Geographical area of Telangana State is 112077 sq.km and the forest area is 26903.70 sq.km, 24% of the total geographical area (TSCCC). According to Champion and Seth's classification (1968), the forests of the Telangana state fall under dry teak forest, southern dry mixed deciduous forest, dry deciduous scrub, dry savannah forest, Hardwicke forest, dry bamboo brakes, and southern thorn forest. About 21.77% (5856.04 sq.km) of total forest area is included in protected areas, divided into 12 Protected Areas, consisting of 7 Wildlife Sanctuaries & 3 National Parks are in the state. Amrabad and the Kawal Tiger Reserves are notified as two tiger reserves in the state.

A few scattered studies have been carried out in some waterbodies in and around Hyderabad (Deepa 2007, 2013) that recorded a total number of 14 species of aquatic Hemiptera belonging to 8 genera and 5 families. Later on post bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh, two studies have been made which recorded 28 species belonging to 14 genera and 6 families (Deepa, 2015 & Chandra et al. 2021). The presence study, hence, focuses on the taxonomy, and the distribution of aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera from both Amrabad and Kawal Tiger Reserve, Telangana and this will also be the first faunal documentation from these two tiger reserves.

Study area

Kawal Tiger Reserve is a tropical dry deciduous forest and dominated with teak plantation and located in northern part of the state, in Adilabad, Asifabad and Nirmal districts and lies between 19.08–19.32 N and 78.56–79.09 E. Amrabad Tiger Reserve is a mixed tropical dry deciduous forest and located in the southern of the state in Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda districts of Telangana State and lies between 16.05–16.52 N and 78.29–79.21 E. The study was carried out between September 2018 to December 2021 in different locations (Fig. 2).

Collection, Preservation And Identification

The aquatic bug collections were made by random sampling by using long-handled nylon water nets and stainless steel fine-meshed strainer. The collected specimens were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol and 10% formaldehyde solution and stored in 50 ml glass vials. The specimens were examined under stereo-zoom binocular microscope (Olympus SZX10) and photographed under Leica M205A. Identification was done following standard literature by Thirumalai (1999; 2015), Bal & Basu (1994), Jehamalar and Chandra (2013, 2016), Basu (2015), Lansbury (1972) and Tran & Zettel (2021). All the identified specimens were registered and deposited in the National Zoological Collection of Zoological Survey of India, Freshwater Biology Regional Centre.

A total number of 38 species have been identified from the Amrabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves (Table 1), belonging to 22 genera and 10 families. Kawal tiger reserve showed higher diversity than Amrabad tiger reserve, with 33 species belonging to 19 genera and 10 families. Whereas, 27 species belong to 18 genera and 9 families were noted from Amrabad Tiger Reserve. Interestingly, two species such as Ranatra libera Zettel, 1999 and Rhagovelila sumatrensis Lundblad, 1933 were recorded for the first time from southern India. Around 20 species were observed for the first time from the state of Telangana and denoted with asterisk marks (*) in the table below. The family-wise species composition of both the tiger reserves also given in Fig. 1.

Table 1

List of aquatic Hemipteran species from Kawal and Amrabad Tiger Reserve.
Species list	Amrabad Tiger Reserve	Kawal Tiger Reserve
Infraorder Nepomorpha Popov, 1968
Fanily Belostomatidae Leach, 1815
Subfamily Belostomatinae Leach, 1815
Genus Diplonychus Laporte, 1833
1. Diplonychus annulatus (Fabricius, 1781)	+	+
2. Diplonychus molestus (Dufour, 1863)	+	+
3. Diplonychus rusticus (Fabricius, 1781)	-	+
Family Corixidae Leach, 1815
Subfamily Corixinae Leach, 1815
Genus Corixa Geoffroy, 1762
4. Corixa affinis* Leach, 1817	+	+
Subfamily Micronectinae Jaczewski 1924
Genus Micronecta Kirkaldy, 1897
Subgenus Basilonecta Hutchinson, 1940
5. Micronecta scutellaris scutellaris (Stal, 1858)	+	+
Family Naucoridae Leach, 1815
Subfamily Cheirochelinae Montandon, 1897
Genus Heleocoris Stal, 1876
Subgenus Heleocoris Stal, 1876
6. Heleocoris bengalensis bengalensis* Montandon, 1910	-	+
7. Heleocoris indicus* Montandon, 1897	-	+
Family Nepidae Latreille, 1802
Subfamily Nepinae Latreille, 1802
Genus Laccotrephes Stal, 1866
8. Laccotrephes elongatus Montandon, 1907	-	+
9. Laccotrephes griseus (Guerin-Meneville, 1844)	+	+
10. Laccotrephes ruber (Linnaeus, 1764)	+	+
Subfamily Ranatrinae Douglas & Scott, 1865
Genus Cercotmetus Amyot & Serville, 1843
11. Cercotmetus brevipes* Montandon, 1909	-	+
Genus Ranatra Fabricius, 1790
Subgenus Ranatra Fabricius, 1790
12. Ranatra digitata Hafiz & Pradhan, 1947	+	+
13. Ranatra elongata Fabricius, 1790	-	+
14. Ranatra libera* Zettel, 1999	+	+
15. Ranatra varipes varipes* Stal, 1861	+	+
Fanily Notonectidae Latreille, 1802
Subfamily Anisopinae Hutchinson, 1929
Genus Anisops Spinola, 1837
16. Anisops barbatus Brooks, 1951	+	+
17. Anisops bouvieri Kirkaldy, 1904	+	+
18. Anisops breddini* Kirkaldy, 1901	+	+
19. Anisops kuroiwae* Matsumura, 1915	+	+
Subfamily Notonectinae Latreille, 1802
Genus Enithares Spinola, 1837
20. Enithares ciliata (Fabricius, 1798)	+	+
21. Enithares fusca* Brooks, 1948	-	+
Family Pleidae Fieber, 1851
Genus Paraplea Esaki & China, 1928
22. Paraplea frontalis* (Fieber, 1844)	+	+
Infraorder Gerromorpha, Popov, 1971
Family Gerridae Leaxh, 1815
Subfamily Cylindrostethinae Matsuda, 1960
Genus Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865
23. Cylindrostethus productus (Spinola, 1840)	+	+
Subfamily Eotrichinae Matsuda, 1960
Genus Amemboa Esasi, 1925
Subgenus Amemboa Easki, 1925
24. Amemboa kumari* (Distant, 1910)	+	-
Genus Onychotrechus Kirkaldy, 1903
25. Onychotrechus rhexenor* Kirkaldy, 1903	-	+
Subfamily Gerrinae Bianch, 1896
Genus Neogerris Matsumura, 1913
26. Neogerris parvulus* (Stal, 1859)	-	+
Genus Limnogonus Stal, 1868
Subgenus Limnogonus Stal, 1868
27. Limnogonus fossarum fossarum (Fabricius, 1775)	+	+
28. Limnogonus nitidus (Mayr, 1865)	+	+
Genus Limnometra Mayr, 1865
29. Limnometra fluviorum (Fabricius, 1798)	+	+
Subfamily Halobatinae Matsuda, 1915
30. Metrocois communis*(Distant, 1910)	+	+
31. Metrocois communoides Chen & Nieser, 1993	+	+
Subfamily Ptilomerinae
Genus Ptilomera Amoyt & Serville, 1843
Subgenus Ptilomera Amoyt & Serville, 1843
32. Ptilomera agriodes Schmidt, 1926	+	-
Subfamily Rhagadotarsinae
Genus Rhagadotarsus Breddin, 1905
Subgenus Rhagadotarsus Breddin, 1905
33. Rhagadotarsus kraepelini* Breddin, 1905	+	-
Family Hydrometridae
Subfamily Hydrometrinae
Genus Hydrometra Latreille, 1796
34. Hydrometra greeni* Kirkaldy, 1898	-	+
Family Mesoveliidae
Subfamily Mesoveliinae
Genus Mesovelia Mulsant & Rey, 1852
35. Mesovelia horvathi* Lundblad, 1934	-	+
36. Mesovelia vittigera* Horvath, 1895	+	+
Family Veliidae Amyot & Serville, 1843
Subfamily Rhagoveliinae China & Usinger, 1949
Genus Rhagovelia Mayr, 1865
Subgenus Neorhagovelia Matsuda, 1956
37. Rhagovelia sumatrensis* Lundblad, 1933	+	+
Subgenus Rhagovelia Mayr, 1865
38. Rhagovelia ceylanica* Lundblad, 1936	-	+

Family Nepidae

Subfamily Ranatrinae

Ranatra (Ranatra) libera Zettel, 1999 (Fig. 3)

1999. Ranatra libera Zettel, Linzer biologische Beitrage 31/1: 427–430.

2012. Ranatra libera Zettel: Polhemus, Entomologica Americana, 118 (1): 242–251.

2020. Ranatra libera Zettel: Jehamalar, Zootaxa, 4718 (1): 095–107.

2021. Ranatra libera Zettel: Tran, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology., 69: 507–521.

Material examined

1 mac. ♂ ex., 20.xii.2021, Umamaheshwaram (16.3725N, 78.7272E); 1 mac. ♂ ex., 21.xii.2021, Nadimpally (16.4070N, 78.6822E); 1 mac. ♀ ex., 28.xii.2021, Udampur (19.1977N, 78.8866E), Coll. Dr. Deepa J & party.

Diagnosis

Body length of males 27.59–28.12mm, female 29.08mm. Respiratory siphon length 25.56–26.34mm. Head width 2.87–2.90mm. Vertex higher than eyes. Space between middle coxae narrower than hind coxae. Metasternum posterior margin convex. Parameres relatively broad, apical hook slender, strongly curved at the base. Gap between the hook and main body of the paramere very narrow. Apical part of hook also narrow.

Distribution: India: Meghalaya and Telangana (Present record). Elsewhere: Myanmar and Thailand.

Remark

Ranatra libera belongs to the Ranatra biroi species group described by Lansbury (1972). R. libera is similar to large instances of Ranatra longipes. The facades of the two species don't differ all that much. The respiratory syphon of R. longipes considerably shorter than the body, although being somewhat sub equal in length of R. libera. Prior to Tran (2016), this species was only known from its type locality in Bago (Myanmar), however it now appears to also be present in Thailand. The paramere structure and shape of R. libera is the important diagnostic feature which differs from the other species in this genus. This species was collected both from lentic and lotic habitats in the study areas.

Among the 38 species of aquatic Hemipterans infraorder Nepomorpha showed higher diversity with 22 species belonging to 10 genera and 6 families. Whereas, infraorder Geromorpha showed 16 species and 12 genera belonging to 4 families. C. brevipes, R. varipes varipes, C. affinis, H. bengalensis bengalensis, H. indicus, E. fusca, A. breddini, A. kuroiwae and P. frontalis under the infraorder Nepomorpha, and A. kumari, M. communis, R. kraepelini, N. parvulus, O. rhexenor, H. greeni, M. horvathi, M. vittigera, R. ceylanica and R. sumatrensis under infraorder Gerromoprha are the additional species for the state fauna of Telangana. Ranatra libera is being reported for the first time from south-central Indian landscape, which was collected from both the tiger reserves (Fig. 3). This species was originally described by Zettel from Burma's Bago division in Myanmar in 1999, and it was later further documented from Thailand (Tran and Nguyen, 2016). Later Jehamalar and Chandra, 2020 reported from Meghalaya, India. R. sumatrensis earlier reported exclusively from Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh in central and Sikkim and West Bengal in the eastern India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Chandra et al. 2020). We are reporting this species from both of these tiger reserves, which is an additional distributional record from India (Fig. 4). Among the ten families documented in the two tiger reserves, Gerridae, Nepidae, and Notonectidae showed the highest species composition of average 31%, 19.5% and 14.5% respectively (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). According to the previous study (Chandra et al. 2021), the diversity of aquatic Hemiptera in Telangana is less than 1% as compared to the diversity of aquatic Hemiptera throughout India. Therefore, a lot of extensive surveys should have to take in various parts of Telangana to acquire true aquatic and semi-aquatic Hemiptera diversity. Knowledge of their biology, feeding habits, pre-predator relationship is essential to study the fish biology (Thirumalai, 1999). They also serve as zoogeographical indicators due to their poor dispersal capabilities (Jordon, 1951; Hungerford & Matsuda, 1958a, 1958b) and played their role as bio-indicators of log-term environmental changes (Moir & Brennan, 2007). It is so abundantly evident that comprehensive documenting of the fauna is required, with a focus on this group, in order to highlight the genuine diversity of aquatic Hemipterans in the state of Telangana.

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, Director, and Dr. C. Raghunathan, Joint-Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, for the facilities and encouragement. The authors convey special thanks to Dr. A. D. Tran, Faculty of Biology, Vietnam National University, for confirming the Ranatra species. It is also with great gratitude that the authors acknowledge Dr. E.E. Jehamalar, Hemiptera section, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, for her valuable inputs and identification supports. The authors are also thankful to Dr. S. S. Jadhav, Dr. Karuthapandi M. and Sk. Rehanuma Sulthana, Freshwater Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Hyderabad, for their continuous support and input. The authors would also thank Mr. C Shiva Shankar and Mr. Bhupathi Bharath for supporting in collection and photography of the specimens.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding

No external funding utilized here.

ORCID

Deepa Jaiswal - http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9999-6025

Somesh Banerjee - http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0723-4444

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Aquatic bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) diversity of two Tiger Reserves state Telangana, India

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Abstract

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Introduction

Material And Methods

Study area

Collection, Preservation And Identification

Results

Discussion

Declarations

References

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