Nepa (bug)
| Nepa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Nepa cinerea | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Heteroptera |
| Family: | Nepidae |
| Subfamily: | Nepinae |
| Genus: | Nepa Linnaeus, 1758[1] |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Nepa is a genus belonging to the family Nepidae, known as water scorpions. There are six species found in freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere.[2][3]
They are oval-bodied, aquatic insects with raptorial front legs. Like other members of the Nepidae, they have a pair of nonretractable cerci-like breathing tubes on the terminal abdominal segment, a characteristic which readily distinguishes them from the Belostomatidae. Their primary staples are other insects and small aquatic vertebrates. They can inflict a painful bite when handled.[4]
Etymology
[edit]'Nepa' is a classical Latin word for a 'scorpion' or 'crab'.[5]
Species
[edit]
The following species are included in Nepa:[2][3][6][7]
- Nepa anophthalma Decu et al., 1994 (see Movile Cave)
- Nepa apiculata Uhler, 1862
- Nepa cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 - type species
- Nepa dollfusi Esaki, 1928
- Nepa grandis Linnæus, 1758
- Nepa hoffmanni Esaki, 1925
- Nepa monteilsensis Nel, 1988
- Nepa plana Sulzer, 1776
- Nepa remyi Poisson, 1961
- Nepa rubra Linnaeus, 1758
- Nepa rustica Fabricius, 1775
- Nepa sardiniensis Hungerford, 1928
- Nepa seurati Bergevin, 1926
Among these, N. apiculata of eastern North American (Canada and United States), and N. cinerea of Europe, northern Africa and northern Asia, are widespread.[2][4] The remaining have restricted ranges in Corsica, Sardinia, Romania, Morocco and northeastern Asia.[2][3] One of these, N. anophthalma, is the only cave-adapted species in the family Nepidae, found in Movile Cave.[3]
Linnaeus listed a number of additional species in his description of the genus, most of which either are considered synonyms or have been moved to other genera.
References
[edit]- ^ Carl von Linné (1757). Systema naturae (10 ed.). p. 440.
- ^ a b c d S.L. Keffer; J.T. Polhemus; J.E. McPherson (1990). "What Is Nepa hoffmanni (Heteroptera: Nepidae)? Male Genitalia Hold the Answer, and Delimit Species Groups". Journal of the New York Entomological Society. 98 (2): 154–162.
- ^ a b c d Vasile Decu; Magdalena Gruia; S. L. Keffer; Serban Mircea Sarbu (1994). "Stygobiotic Waterscorpion, Nepa anophthalma, n. sp. (Heteroptera: Nepidae), from a Sulfurous Cave in Romania". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 87 (6): 755–761. doi:10.1093/aesa/87.6.755.
- ^ a b Donald Borror; Richard White (1970). A field guide to the insects of America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-395-07436-7.
- ^ 'Nepa' on latin-dictionary.net
- ^ 'Nepa' on ITIS.gov
- ^ GBIF: Nepa Linnaeus, 1758
External links
[edit]
Media related to Nepa at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Nepa at Wikispecies- Nepa on bugguide.net
