Chironomus transvaalensis Kieffer, 1923

Wuelker, Wolfgang F., Kiknadze, I. I. & Istomina, A. G., 2011, Karyotypes of Chironomus Meigen (Diptera: Chironomidae) species from Africa, Comparative Cytogenetics 1, pp. 23-46 : 27-28

Chironomus transvaalensis Kieffer, 1923

Previous reports:

Kieffer 1923, imago.

Mc Lachlan 1969, 1971: larva and pupa.

Freeman 1957, imago.

Martin 1979, banding sequence of chromosome arm F.

Wülker et al. 1989, banding sequences of arms A, E, and F, phylogenetic position of species.

Karyotype

(Fig. 2a). Haploid number n=4, arm combination AE CD BF G ( “pseudothummi” cytocomplex), centromeric bands not heterochromatinized, nucleolus in arm C, inversion polymorphism in arms C and G.

Banding sequences (Fig. 2b-f).

Arm A (Fig. 2b) has the sequence trvA1, differing by only one inversion step from the basic sequence holA1.

Arm E (Fig. 2c) has the banding sequence trvE1, differing only by one step from basic sequence aciE1 ( Chironomus acidophilus Keyl, 1960 etc.)

Arm C (Fig. 2d, j) has two banding sequences, trvC1 and trvC2, differing by one simple inversion (Fig. 2j). The sequence trvC1 is formed by four inversion steps from a basic sequence, (lonC1), found in several Chironomus species ( Chironomus longistylus Goetghebuer, 1921, Chironomus anthracinus Zetterstedt, 1860 etc.).

Arm D (Fig. 2e) has the sequence trvD1 differing from pigST by four inversion steps.

Arm B (Fig. 2a) not mapped, monomorphic. BR is well developed.

Arm F (Fig. 2f) has the banding sequence trvF1 differing from cosmopolitan basic pigST by three inversion steps.

Arm G (Fig. 2g-i) has three banding sequences, trvG1, trvG2, and trvG3. The sequence trvG2 differs from trvG1 by a short inversion in the region BR1 (Fig. 2h); the sequence trvG3 - by long inversion of central part of arm G (Fig. 2i). Both last sequences were found as heterozygotes. There are four Balbiani rings.

In total, the banding sequence pool of Chironomus transvaalensis contains 10 sequences, all of them are Ethiopian endemic sequences.

Larva:

tubuli laterales at abdominal segment VII. Other characters - Mc Lachlan, 1969.

Distribution:

various places in Africa, Freeman (1957); Blantyre Malawi (Mc Lachlan), Wülker, 1957: pool east Lake Victoria, Kikuwi-river, Tanzania (J. Grunewald), Pretoria South Africa, Israel (Martin, personal communication).