Sea skaters of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, with a new species and a revised key to Indian Ocean species of Halobates and Asclepios (Hemiptera, Gerridae)

Abstract

The sea skaters, genus Halobates Eschscholtz, include the only known oceanic insects, although most species of Halobates and the related genus Asclepios Distant are found in sheltered coastal waters. The present paper deals with the sea skaters of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Halobates elephanta sp.n., is described from Bombay, and H. galatea Herring and H. formidabilis (Distant) are redescribed and their taxonomic status clarified. Taxonomic, distributional, and biological notes are given for H. flaviventris Eschscholtz, H. sexualis Distant, H. micans Eschscholtz, H. germanus White, and Asclepios annandalei Distant and their distributions along the coasts of the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives are mapped. A revised key to Indian Ocean sea skaters is provided. Finally, we discuss the taxonomic and ecological diversity of the sea skaters of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives in relation to present knowledge about the ecology, biology, and distribution of these marine insects.

Keywords :

• Sea skaters
• Gerridae
• Halobates
• Asclepios
• India
• Sri Lanka
• Maldives
• ecology