Xiphovelopsis, a new South American genus of Microveliinae

Semiaquatic bugs of the subfamily Microveliinae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Gerridae) live in a wide range of habitats, including streams, rivers, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, mangroves, caves, crab holes, tree holes and bromeliads. A total of 120 species has been recorded from the Neotropical region, of which 11 bear modified pretarsal structures on the middle leg. They belong to the genera Euvelia Drake, 1957 (seven Neotropical species), Husseyella Herring, 1955 (three Neotropical species), and Xiphovelia Lundblad, 1933 (mainly Asian genus with one Neotropical species assigned to it). Here, we describe Xiphovelopsis Floriano & Moreira, gen. nov. to include Xiphovelopsis tarumana Floriano & Moreira, sp. nov. and Xiphovelopsis lacunana (Drake & Plaumann, 1953) comb. nov., which is removed from the genus Xiphovelia due to the morphological differences and the geographic isolation in relation to its current congeners. We also provide images and notes on Euvelia and Husseyella.