Sigara (Subsigara) oxiana Jansson, 1983

Kanyukova, E. V., Stolbov, V. A., Sheykin, S. D. & Ivanov, S. A., 2021, New data on Corixidae and Hebridae (Heteroptera) of Kazakhstan, Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 30 (2), pp. 339-345 : 340-341

Sigara (Subsigara) oxiana Jansson, 1983

( Figs 1–3 )

Material examined. Kazakhstan, Turkistan Prov. , Tulkibas Distr. , Shakpak baba Vill., pond on Arys River, 42°30′42″N, 70°35′21″E, 1060 m, 12.VIII.2019, V. Stolbov leg., 1 male, 10 females , 5 nymphs presumably of IV and V instars (ZISP, ZMTU).

Bionomics. The species was collected in a small artificial reservoir on the Arys River ( Fig. 6 ), in the village. The depth of the pond at the sampling site was more than one metre, the bottom was rocky with a small amount of detritus, and the water contained single plants of Persicaria amphibia

Note on species identification. The species has intermediate characters of the two congeners, S. (S.) fossarum and S. (S.) falleni (Fieber, 1848), which are also distributed in Kazakhstan. Jansson (1983) pointed out the following in the description of S. oxiana : “Pala roughly intermediate between those of S. (S.) fossarum and S. (S.) falleni, differing from the former in having the pegs in two rows, although the space between the rows is rather small, and from the latter in having the dorsal edge of the pala proximally angular instead of roundish. The pala of S. oxiana is also clearly broader distally than that of S. (S.) fossarum or S. (S.) falleni ”. The habitus and pala of the specimen examined are shown in Figs 1–3 . We also confirm that this specimen has a longitudinal row of short spines on the dorsal surface of the hind femora, a rudimentary strigil, and other diagnostic characters corresponding to S. oxiana .

(L.) Gray and an abundance of planktonic algae, which corresponded to the state of bloom.

Distribution. The species is known from Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In Uzbekistan, it is found in the basin of the Amu Darya River; in the north, it reaches the Aral Sea. Here the species is record- ed from Kazakhstan for the first time.

Figures

Figs 6. Collecting localities of new and adittional records of water bugs in Kazakhstan.

Figs 1–3. Sigara oxiana Jansson, 1983 from the village of Shakpak baba. 1, habitus; 2, anterior part of body; 3, magnified view of pala. The angular dorsal margin of the pala proximally is shown by the arrow.