Laccotrephes is a genus of water scorpion belonging to the family Nepidae. They are carnivorous insects that hunt near the water surface. They are not aggressive, but may inflict a painful bite if not handled carefully, which may cause a local reaction. There are about 60 species found in shallow stagnant or slow-moving waters in warm parts of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Anatomy
They are dark brown to rufous brown, elongate and flattened, aquatic insects with hooked raptorial forelegs and a long, thin tube (or siphon) protruding from the tip of the abdomen. The respiratory siphon consists of two filaments which are extensions of the eighth abdominal tergum. These in unison form an air duct which takes in air from above the water surface (similar to a snorkel). Air is fed via the tracheal system and spiracles on the dorsum of the first abdominal segment to an air store under the elytra.
Populations The genus contains two distinguishable assemblages, with respectively Afrotropical and Indomalayan-Australasian centers of diversity. The two assemblages overlap only in Iran. Morphology of the male paramere is important in distinguishing species.
Species
The following are included in BioLib.cz:BioLib.cz: "Laccotrephes" Stål, 1866 (retrieved 11 January 2021)
Laccotrephes ampliatus (Montandon, 1895) Laccotrephes annulipes (Laporte in Silbermann, 1833) Laccotrephes archipelagi (Ferrari, 1888) Laccotrephes armatus Montandon, 1898 Laccotrephes armipes Montandon, 1909 Laccotrephes ater (Linnaeus, 1767) Laccotrephes basilewskyi Poisson, 1955 Laccotrephes biei Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes biimpresus Montandon, 1913 Laccotrephes bokumai Poisson, 1960 Laccotrephes brachialis Gerstaecker, 1873 – Africa Laccotrephes breddini Montandon, 1913 Laccotrephes brevicaudatus Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes calcar Distant, 1904 Laccotrephes calcaratus Montandon, 1898 Laccotrephes celebensis Polhemus & Keffer, 1999 – Sulawesi Laccotrephes chinensis (Hoffmann, 1925) Laccotrephes collarti Poisson, 1940 Laccotrephes dentatus (Ferrari, 1888) Laccotrephes depressus (Montandon, 1895) Laccotrephes dilatatus (Montandon, 1895) Laccotrephes dipidii Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes dissimulatus Montandon, 1912 – Africa Laccotrephes dubia Ferrari, 1888 Laccotrephes ellipticus Gerstaecker, 1892 Laccotrephes elongatus Montandon, 1907 Laccotrephes erekhtheus Linnavuori, 1971 Laccotrephes eusoma (Ferrari, 1888) Laccotrephes fabricii Stål, 1868 – Africa Laccotrephes flavovenosa (Dohrn, 1860) Laccotrephes fuscus (Linnaeus, 1758) Laccotrephes gomai Poisson, 1960 Laccotrephes griseus (Gúerin-Méneville, 1835) Laccotrephes grossus (Fabricius, 1787) Laccotrephes hyperion Linnavuori, 1971 Laccotrephes ingens Ferrari, 1888 †Laccotrephes incertus Popov, 1971 Laccotrephes irresectus Montandon, 1914 Laccotrephes japonensis Scott, 1874 Laccotrephes kabarei Poisson, 1960 Laccotrephes kafakumbai Poisson, 1957 Laccotrephes kahuzii Poisson, 1960 Laccotrephes kakyeloi Poisson, 1957 Laccotrephes katekei Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes kazibae Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes keilak Linnavuori, 1971 Laccotrephes latimanus Montandon, 1909 Laccotrephes limosoides Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes limosus Stål, 1865 Laccotrephes longicaudatus Nieser, Zettel & Chen, 2009 Laccotrephes lupialae Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes maculatus (Fabricius, 1775) Laccotrephes mancinii Poisson, 1957 Laccotrephes masombwei Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes mozambica Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes niala Linnavuori, 1981 Laccotrephes occultus Lundblad, 1933 Laccotrephes oculatus Montandon, 1898 Laccotrephes overlaeti Poisson, 1957 Laccotrephes palestinensis Nieser, Chen & Guilbert, 2009 Laccotrephes papuus Montandon, 1900 Laccotrephes pfeiferiae (Ferrari, 1888) – Southeast Asia Laccotrephes pseudoampliatus Poisson, 1956 Laccotrephes pseudoater Poisson, 1954 Laccotrephes robustior Zettel, 2008 Laccotrephes robustus Stal, 1871 Laccotrephes ruber (Linnaeus, 1764) Laccotrephes simulatus Montandon, 1913 Laccotrephes sondaicus J. Polhemus & Keffer, 1999 – Sumbawa and Flores Laccotrephes steindachneri (Ferrari, 1888) Laccotrephes tristis (Stål, 1854) – Australia Laccotrephes vicinus (Signoret, 1863) – Africa
References
External links