The aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera (Hemiptera) from Argentina.

MELO, M.C.

Tianjin, China

Congreso; 4th Quadriennial Meeting of the International Heteropterist’s Society; 2010

International Heteropterist's Society and Nankai University

Of the seven infraorders included in the suborder Heteroptera, only three comprise species that live over, within or near water bodies: Gerromorpha, Nepomorpha, and Leptopodomorpha. Most of the species in these groups are predators, and the family Corixidae also includes detritivores and microphagous scavengers. The aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera inhabit all the continents except Antarctica, and are most diverse in the Neotropical and Oriental regions. They are especially abundant in tropical areas, although many genera are well adapted to cold climates, especially those of the families Saldidae and Corixidae. In Argentina, this group of Heteroptera is not very diverse, although most of the families are represented by at least one species. The last formal checklist of the Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha from Argentina was published by Bachmann (1998) and contained 173 recorded species. After a thorough bibliographical review, my newest list contains 214 species (including the family Saldidae). The following families have been recorded from Argentina: Belostomatidae (33 species), Corixidae (35 species), Gelastocoridae (11 species), Gerridae (18 species), Hebridae (3 species), Helotrephidae (2 species), Hydrometridae (4 species), Mesoveliidae (2 species), Naucoridae (32 species), Nepidae (15 species), Notonectidae (21 species), Ochteridae (1 species), Pleidae (5 species), Potamocoridae (1 species), Saldidae (6 species), and Veliidae (25 species). Herein I give an account of the diversity of the aquatic and semiaquatic Heteroptera from Argentina, including biogeographic considerations, especially regarding endemic taxa.