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 Major Groups | Insecta (insects) | Hemiptera (bugs) | Gerridae | Rheumatometra
 

Rheumatometra

Major Group: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Gerridae
Genus: Rheumatometra

Descriptive Features:

  • adults apterous or macropterous
  • body suboval (male) or broadly oval (female), moderately dorso-ventrally flattened, blackish, partly covered with grey pruinose pubescence
  • pronotum dark with median yellowish mark
  • head short and broad
  • antennae only 0.4-0.5X body length, with preapical spinous hair on segments 1-3, segment 1 longest, segments 2-4 subequal in length, segment 4 oval
  • fore wings (macropterous) dark brownish, largely membranous, extending far beyond end of abdomen
  • mesonotum about 2x (male), or more than 3X pronotum length, with longitudinal depression in middle (female)
  • mesosternum 6-7X as long as metasternum
  • structure of fore legs sexually dimorphic
  • male femora incrassate, strongly curved, tibiae curved, with elongate dark pad on apical spur
  • female femora thickened but not curved, tibiae straight
  • abdomen relatively short, subequal in length to thorax, tergites 1 and 7 longest
  • male genital segments small, at most slightly protruding from pregenital abdomen, proctiger small, parallel-sided
  • Total length: (m) 2.5 mm (f) 4.2-4.5 mm
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    Rheumatometra philarete

    Taxonomic Checklist: Species
    Rheumatometra dimorpha
    Andersen & Weir
    Rheumatometra philarete Kirkaldy

     

    Distribution: Tas, Vic, NSW, ACT, Qld 

    Functional Feeding Group: predators

     

    Murray River, Jingellic Vic

     

    Information Sources: Andersen & Weir 1998, Cassis & Gross 1995, Lansbury & Lake 2002, Hawking & Smith 1997
    Key to Species: Andersen & Weir 2004