Allocladius fortispinatus (Edwards) Andersen & Saether & Mendes, 2010

Andersen, Trond, Saether, Ole A. & Mendes, Humberto F., 2010, Neotropical Allocladius Kieffer, 1913 and Pseudosmittia Edwards, 1932 (Diptera: Chironomidae) 2472, Zootaxa 2472 (1), pp. 1-77 : 10-11

Allocladius fortispinatus (Edwards) comb. n.

( Figs 17–19 )

Spaniotoma (Smittia) fortispinata Edwards, 1931: 296 .

Bryophaenocladius fortispinata (Edwards) , Ferrington and Saether (1995: 57).

Bryophaenocladius fortispinatus (Edwards) , Spies and Reiss (1996: 75).

Material examined. ARGENTINA: Provincia Río Negro, Bariloche , male holotype, 23–28.x.1926, F.W. Edwards (BM1927–63, BMNH) .

Diagnostic characters. Differs from other members of the group by having parallel-sided anal point, R 4+5 ending distal to end of M 3+4, and apparently only 2 acrostichals.

Male (n = 1). Total length 2.17 mm. Wing length 1.33 mm. Total length / wing length 1.63. Wing length / length of profemur 3.0.

Coloration. Dark brown.

Head. Antenna lost. Temporal setae including 2 postorbitals, inner verticals and outer verticals not observed. Clypeus with 8 setae. Tentorium 120 µm long. Stipes 100 µm long. First palpomere 20 µm long, second palpomere 34 µm long, remaining palpomeres lost.

Thorax. Median antepronotal lobes well developed, lateral setae not apparent. Dorsocentrals 8, acrostichals 2, prealars 2, supraalar absent. Scutellum with 2 setae.

Wing ( Fig. 17 ). Anal lobe weak. Cu 1 strongly sinuate. VR 1.40. Costal extension 90 µm long. All veins bare.

Legs. Spurs of mid tibia 18 µm and 14 µm long, hind tibial spurs broken. Length (in µm) and proportions of legs as in Table 3.

Hypopygium ( Figs 18–19 ). Anal point extending beyond posterior margin of tergite IX, parallel-sided with rounded apex, 19 µm long, 5 µm wide; base elevated; tergite IX with 12 setae. Laterosternite IX with 4–6 setae. Phallapodeme 58 µm long. Transverse sternapodeme 60 µm long, arcuate, with well developed oral projections. Apparent virga 6 µm long, 5 µm wide, dark. Gonocoxite 146 µm long, with 7 long ventral setae along medioventral margin. Superior volsella apparently slightly developed as basal swelling fused with long, narrow and adpressed inferior volsella covered by microtrichia and small marginal setae. Gonostylus comparatively straight, 54 µm long; megaseta 12 µm long. HR 2.70. HV 4.02.

Remarks. What appears to be the virga in this single specimen is displaced posteriorly and reversed; possibly this is not a virga. However, there is no other structure that could indicate a virga and the apparent virga correspond to that of other members of the group. Only two acrostichals were observed. However, except for this character other details are quite similar to other species of the genus such as wing venation, anal point and gonostylus. It is not unconceivable that there could be more acrostichals as the ones observed are rather weak as is common when there are more acrostichals and not relatively robust as when there are only two acrostichals.

The female paratypes are from different localities and there is no reason to expect that they should belong to the same species. We thus did not examine them.

Distribution. The holotype male is known from Bariloche in Argentina ( Edwards 1931; Spies & Reiss 1996).

Figures

FIGURES 17–19. Allocladius fortispinatus (Edwards, 1931) comb. n., male. 17—wing; 18—anal point and tergite IX and dorsal aspect of left gonocoxite and gonostylus; 19—hypopygium, ventral aspect of right side.