Records of the Zoological Survey of India - A Journal of Indian Zoology

Srimoyee Basu ¹, G. Thirumalai ¹, K. A. Subramanian ¹, Goutam Kumar Saha ²

Affiliations
1 Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700053, IN
2 Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata-700019, IN

Abstract

The aquatic and semi-aquatic Heteroptera under the Infraorder Nepomorpha and Gerromorpha are distributed in almost all kinds of ecological niches with diverse climatic conditions, including both marine and freshwater habitats. They are the important components of freshwater ecosystem as they play a major role in the food web of this particular ecosystem. Globally, among the 17 major families of aquatic Heteroptera, 16 families comprising of 79 genera and 292 species are represented in India.

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Kailash Chandra ¹, E. Eyarin Jehamalar ¹, G. Thirumalai ²

Affiliations
1 Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata - 700 053, IN
2 Zoological Survey of India, Southern Region Station, Chennai-600 028, IN

Abstract

Aquatic insects contribute significantly to freshwater ecosystems, forming food for many organisms, particularly in the food webs associated with wetland environments. Many fishes, amphibians, shorebirds, waterfowl, and other animals forage heavily on both the aquatic and terrestrial stages of aquatic insects, which are essential to their survival. It is estimated that about 3% of the total insects are aquatic, spending at least a part of their life cycles in the water, and these comprise about 25,000 to 30,000 species (Cheng, 1976). Gerroidea is a superfamily of Gerromorpha, commonly called as semi-aquatic bugs or shore-inhabiting bugs, which can be easily recognized by their piercing and sucking mouth parts and the long antennae.

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S. Balakrishnan ¹, K. Kamalakannan ¹, M. Srinivasan ¹, P. Sampathkumar ¹, G. Thirumalai ²

Affiliations
1 Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, IN
2 Zoological Survey of India, Southern Regional Station, Chennai - 600 028, IN

Abstract

The water-striders, Halobates micans (Hemiptera: Gerridae) was described in 1822 by Eschscholtz based on the material procured from unspecified locality some where along the Southeast coast of India. The allotype of this species was designated by Eschscholtz, which was collected from Nagapattinani coastal waters.

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