Gerromorpha

Water measurer Hydrometra stagnorum, copyright Entomart.

Belongs within: Heteroptera.
Contains: Gerroidea.

The Gerromorpha are a group of predacious bugs usually associated with aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats. Members include the Mesoveliidae, a cosmopolitan group of slender, long-legged bugs mostly found along water edges though some flightless forms are associated with damp leaf litter. The Hebridae are small bugs, two millimetres or less in length, with two-segmented tarsi (Carver et al. 1991).

Synapomorphies (from Grimaldi & Engel 2005): Head, thorax and part of abdomen covered with fine hydrophobic pile; adults with three pairs of head trichobothria inserted in deep pits; mandibular levers present; pretarsi with dorsal and ventral arolia, ventral arolium often highly modified with hydrofuge hairs; female genital tract with intricate gynatrial complex.

<==Gerromorpha [Amphibicoriomorpha, Amphibicorisae]
    |--Mesoveliidae [Mesovelioidea] GE05
    |    |  i. s.: Engynabis tenuis SP02
    |    |         Sphongophoriella SP02
    |    |         Karanabis [Karanabidae] GE05
    |    |           `--K. kiritshenkoi GE05
    |    |         Duncanovelia extensa Jell & Duncan 1986 RJ93
    |    |         Austrovelia queenslandica CGW91
    |    |         Phrynovelia papua RD77
    |    |--Madeoveliinae CGW91
    |    `--Mesoveliinae CGW91
    |         |--Cavaticovelia Andersen & Polhemus 1980 B86
    |         |    `--C. aaa Gagné & Howarth 1975 B86
    |         |--Speovelia Esaki 1929 B86
    |         |    `--S. maritima Esaki 1929 B86
    |         `--Mesovelia CGW91
    |              |--M. hungerfordi CGW91
    |              |--M. indica B86
    |              `--M. vittigera CGW91
    `--+--Hebridae [Hebroidea, Naeogaeidae] GE05
       |    |--Hyrcaninae CGW91
       |    `--Hebrinae CGW91
       |         |--Merragata hackeri CGW91
       |         `--Hebrus TBG00
       |              |--H. axillaris CGW91
       |              `--H. ruficeps TBG00
       `--+--Gerroidea GE05
          `--Hydrometroidea CGW91
               |--Paraphrynoveliidae GE05
               `--+--Daniavelia [Macroveliidae] GE05
                  |    `--D. morsensis GE05
                  `--Hydrometridae [Hydrometrinae, Hydrometroidea] GE05
                       |--Carinametra burmensis GE05
                       `--+--Cretaceometra brasiliensis GE05
                          `--Hydrometra Latreille 1802 L02
                               |--*H. stagnorum (Linnaeus 1758) L02, L58 [=Cimex stagnorum L02]
                               |--H. aculeata Montr. 1864 D14
                               |--H. feta ZS10
                               |--H. hoplogastra WEE70
                               |--H. risbeci CGW91
                               `--H. strigosa CGW91

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B86] Botosaneanu, L. 1986. Insecta: Heteroptera. In: Botosaneanu, L. (ed.) Stygofauna Mundi: A Faunistic, Distributional, and Ecological Synthesis of the World Fauna inhabiting Subterranean Waters (including the Marine Interstitial) pp. 620–621. E. J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys: Leiden.

[CGW91] Carver, M., G. F. Gross & T. E. Woodward. 1991. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, cicadas, aphids, scale insects etc.) In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 429–509. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[D14] Distant, W. L. 1914. Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the surrounding islands. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 369–390, pls 11–12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms' General Textbook of Entomology 10^th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.

[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.

[SP02] Shcherbakov, D. E., & Yu. A. Popov. 2002. Superorder Cimicidea Laicharting, 1781: Order Hemiptera Linné, 1758. The bugs, cicadas, plantlice, scale insects, etc. [=Cimicida Laicharting, 1781, =Homoptera Leach, 1815+Heteroptera Latreille, 1810). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 143–157. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[TBG00] Tuzovskij, P., D. Benfatti & R. Gerecke. 2000. The water mite family Acherontacaridae Cook, 1967 nov. stat. and diagnosis of the superfamily Hydrovolzioidea Thor, 1905 (Acariformes, Hydrachnidia). Acarologia 41: 451–473.

[WEE70] Woodward, T. E., J. W. Evans & V. F. Eastop. 1970. Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, etc.) In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers pp. 387–457. Melbourne University Press.

[ZS10] Zborowski, P., & R. Storey. 2010. A Field Guide to Insects in Australia 3^rd ed. Reed New Holland: Sydney.

Last updated: 7 May 2022.