Neotropical Allocladius Kieffer, 1913 and Pseudosmittia Edwards, 1932 (Diptera: Chironomidae) 2472
Author
Andersen, Trond
Author
Saether, Ole A.
Author
Mendes, Humberto F.
text
Zootaxa
2010
2010-05-14
2472
1
1
77
https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2472.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.2472.1.1
11755334
6507307
Allocladius
Kieffer
Allocladius
Kieffer, 1913: 28
.
Allocladius
Kieffer
;
Freeman and Cranston (1980: 181)
;
Ashe (1983: 10)
; Ferrington and Saether (in manuscript).
Lindebergia
Tuiskunen, 1984: 121
.
Prosmittia
Brundin, 1956: 165
sensu
Cranston and Oliver, 1988: 449
, pro parte, misidentification;
Oliver (1963: 177)
;
Saether
et al.
(1984: 270)
. See
Saether and Ferrington (1993)
.
Pseudosmittia
auct. nec Edwards.
Type
species.
Allocladius niger
Kieffer, 1913
.
Diagnostic characters.
The imagines are separable from other
Orthocladiinae
with bare eyes, wings, and squama, by having 4–16 short non-scalpellate acrostichals in mid-scutum without additional tubercle, hump or microtrichial tuft; non-extended, non-protruding eyes; antepronotal lobes not reduced medially; supraalars usually present; anal lobe of wing mostly well developed, costa not extended to moderately long, VR high, Cu
1
sinuate to slightly curved. Male anal point usually placed forward on tergite IX on microtrichiose and setose base, apical part short to long, parallel-sided to slightly tapering, free of microtrichia at least at apex; single, plate- to spine-like, median virga; pars ventralis often present; superior volsella absent or more often present and bulge-like; male gonostylus simple. Female genitalia with gonocoxite IX long and low with characteristic sclerotized margin against tergite IX, tergite IX divided, small dorsomedian lobe, large ventrolateral lobe, and spermathecal duct with loop.
The pupae can be separated from other orthoclads by lacking a thoracic horn, having short frontal setae on frontal apotome, reduced or smoothly rounded anal lobe with fine hair-like anal macrosetae; three precorneals and two median antepronotals all fine and hair-like; conjunctives both dorsally and ventrally armed with similar sized spinules. Tergites II–VII with anterior and posterior spinules clearly larger than median spinules, resulting in a transversely striped appearance.
The larvae are separable from all other orthoclads except
Camptocladius
van der Wulp, 1874
,
Pseudosmittia
Edwards
, and the new genus (Ferrington & Saether in manuscript) by having broad, bifid S I and S II, reduced antenna, and no procerci. They differ from
Camptocladius
by having posterior parapods with claws and premandible with brush. From
Pseudosmittia
they differ by having posterior parapods with 7–11 claws, mandible with 4 inner teeth, and antennal blade extending beyond flagellum about as long as width of basal segment. From the new genus they differ by having mandible with 4 inner teeth combined with about 40 longer claws on anterior parapods. They have a mentum with 4–5 pairs of lateral teeth, at most 1 anal seta, and posterior parapods longer than anal tubules.
A more complete diagnosis and description will be given by Ferrington and Saether (in manuscript). The genus can be divided in a basal paraphyletic
fortispinatus
group and a monophyletic collection of four groups of which the
longicrus
group includes all the Neotropical species except for
A. fortispinatus
. A subgroup, the
bilobulatus
group contains all species with a pars ventralis.