identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
EAECE1A3FE7153B494B0E4800B570995.text	EAECE1A3FE7153B494B0E4800B570995.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Axarus rogersi (Beck & Beck 1958)	<div><p>Axarus rogersi (Beck &amp; Beck, 1958)</p><p>Fig. 5</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>1 Male; Belize, Guanacaste National Park, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-88.78636&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=17.263433" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -88.78636/lat 17.263433)">Belize River</a>; 17.263433, -88.786359; leg. A. A. Vasquez; dep. ARC .</p><p>Diagnostic characters.</p><p>The adult male of A. rogersi can be separated from related species by the combination of the following characters: Abdominal tergites I, VIII, IX, and hypopygium brown; tergites II – VII with posterior 2 / 3 rd yellow and anterior 1 / 3 rd brown; AR 2.7; temporal setae 22; acrostichals 14; dorsocentrals 6; anal lobe of the wing short; lateral projection of tergite IX setose, long, narrow, and curved; basal section posteriorly sclerotized, setose and with short spines, tip well-sclerotized with inverse Y-shaped dorsal crest; superior volsella tapering with around 6 long simple setae on its ventral surface; inferior volsella digitiform and long.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male (n = 1). Total length 5.43 mm. Wing length ~ 2.41 mm. Total length / wing length ~ 2.30. Wing length / profemur length ~ 1.80.</p><p>Coloration. Head, including antenna brown. Thorax yellowish brown with paler coloration in scutellar and preepisternal region, and brown streaks at apical portion of the anterior scutum and postnotum. Abdominal tergites I, VIII, IX, and hypopygium brown. Tergites II – VII with posterior 2 / 3 rd yellow and anterior 1 / 3 rd brown (Fig. 5 A). Abdominal sternites yellow. Wings greyish-brown; halteres yellow. Anterior 1 / 10 th of the fore femur and entire tibia brown, posterior 9 / 10 th of the fore femur yellow; anterior 1 / 10 th and posterior 1 / 10 th of the mid and hind fore femur brown, remainder of mid and hind femur and tibia yellow (Fig. 5 B – D).</p><p>Head. Antenna with 11 flagellomere, 2 nd and 3 rd flagellomere with pair of long and slender sensilla chaetica, each twice the size of the segment bearing them; AR 2.67 (Fig. 5 E). Temporal setae 22, uniserial, including 13 postorbitals, 3 outer verticals, and 6 postoculars. Clypeus rectangular, 58 μm long and 75 μm wide, bearing 22 setae. Tentorium 115 μm long. Third palpomere missing; length of remaining palpomere (in μm): 24, 20, 101, 116.</p><p>Thorax. Acrostichals 14; dorsocentrals 6, uniserial and widely distributed; prealars 6; scutellars 8, uniserial. Antepronotal lobe with 2 basolateral setae.</p><p>Wing. Damaged. Anal lobe developed, though short. R with 37 setae; R 1 with 25 setae; R 4 + 5 with 26 setae. Brachiolum with 2 setae. Squama with 5 setae. Microtrichia visible at 10 × magnification.</p><p>Legs. Tarsal segments of all legs missing. Fore tibia with scale and no spur. Mid tibia spurs 29 and 17 μm long. Hind tibia spurs 31 and 29 μm long. Lengths and proportions of legs as in Table 3.</p><p>Hypopygium (Fig. 5 F). Lateral projection of tergite IX setose, long, narrow, and curved, 62 μm long. Tergite band thick anteriorly. Anal point 118 μm long and 55 μm wide at its widest point; basal section posteriorly sclerotized, setose and with short spines, tip well-sclerotized with inverse Y-shaped dorsal crest. Transverse sternapodeme 86 μm long, without oral projections. Phallapodeme 162 μm long. Gonocoxite 194 μm long. Superior volsella tapering 127 μm long, with around 6 long simple setae on its ventral surface. Inferior volsella digitiform, 272 μm long 36 μm wide at base. Gonostylus 202 μm long. HR 0.96 HV 2.69.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>Axarus rogersi is a well-known species of Axarus Roback, 1980, reported from the Neotropical region, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Nearctic, Florida, United States (Andersen et al. 2018; Andersen and Mendes 2002 b; Bello-González et al. 2024; Oliver et al. 1990). Beck and Beck (1958) only briefly described the species characteristics. In this study, we provided a detailed description and measurements of the species based on a single male specimen we collected. Although this does not provide a range for its characteristics; however, it provides a basis from which future measurements can be compared.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EAECE1A3FE7153B494B0E4800B570995	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Namayandeh, Armin;Vasquez, Adrian A.	Namayandeh, Armin, Vasquez, Adrian A. (2026): New species and faunistic records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) from Belize. ZooKeys 1270: 223-244, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1270.178431
1FDAAE1D95EB52A8887FA1A7B2FA0629.text	1FDAAE1D95EB52A8887FA1A7B2FA0629.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Cricotopus mayaorum Namayandeh & Vasquez 2026	<div><p>Cricotopus mayaorum sp. nov.</p><p>Fig. 4</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype • 1 male; Belize: Guanacaste National Park, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-88.78636&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=17.263433" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -88.78636/lat 17.263433)">Belize River</a>; 17.263433, -88.786359; leg. A. A. Vasquez; dep. ARC .</p><p>Diagnostic characters.</p><p>The adult male of C. mayaorum sp. nov. can be separated from related species by the combination of the following characters: Microtrichia of posterior scutum numerous and long, giving the appearance of acrostichals; abdominal tergites I, VII – VIII brown. Tergites II – III with pale band on posterior 1 / 3 and brown band on anterior 2 / 3. Tergites IV – VI with pale band on the posterior 1 / 2 and brown band on the anterior 1 / 2; femurs of all legs brown; posterior 1 / 5 and anterior 2 / 5 of fore and mid tibia brown, the mid 3 / 5 light; the posterior 2 / 3 rd of hind tibia brown, remainder light brown; all tarsi light brown; temporal setae 4; gonostylus fusiform, without crista dorsalis.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male (n = 1). Total length 3.21 mm.</p><p>Coloration. Head, including antenna brown. Thorax and halteres brown. Abdominal tergites I, VII – VIII brown. Tergites II – III with light band on posterior 1 / 3 rd and brown band on anterior 2 / 3 rd. Tergites IV – VI with light band on the posterior half and brown band on the anterior half (Fig. 4 A). Femurs of all legs brown; posterior 1 / 5 th and anterior 2 / 5 th of fore and mid tibia brown, the mid 3 / 5 th light; the posterior 2 / 3 rd of hind tibia brown, remainder light brown; all tarsi light brown (Fig. 4 D).</p><p>Head (Fig. 4 B). Antenna with 13 flagellomere; last flagellomere with 6 sensilla chaetica, flagellomere 2 and 3 each with a pair of long thin sensilla chaetica; AR 1.27. Eyes hairy, microtrichia surpassing the ommatidia, with short wedge-shaped dorsomedial extension. Temporal setae 4, including 3 outer verticals and 1 inner vertical. Clypeus rectangular, 78 μm long and 109 μm wide, bearing 10 setae. Tentorium 171 μm long. Length of palpomeres (in μm): 60, 46, 71, 116, 173.</p><p>Thorax (Fig. 4 C). Acrostichals 10; dorsocentrals 19, irregularly uniserial; prealars 3; scutellars 18, biserial. Antepronotal lobe with 3 basolateral setae. Humeral pit present. Microtrichia of the posterior scutum numerous and long, giving the appearance of acrostichals.</p><p>Wing. Missing.</p><p>Legs (Fig. 4 D). Femur of mid and hind legs with keel. Fore tibia spur missing. Mid tibial spurs 28 and 25 μm long. Hind tibial spurs 61 and 24 μm long. Hind comb with 14 spines. Lengths and proportions of legs as in Table 2.</p><p>Hypopygium (Fig. 4 E). Transverse sternapodeme 119 μm long, with well-developed oral projections. Phallapodeme 47 μm long. Superior volsella absent. Inferior volsella, a large, bent finger-like lobe, located on the mid-gonocoxite. Gonocoxite 182 μm long. Gonostylus 99 μm long, fusiform, without crista dorsalis; mega seta 12 μm long. HR 1.83; HV 3.23.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The new species is named after the Mayans, the aborigines and original inhabitants of this region. The suffix - orum is Latin, and it denotes belonging to multiple people.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>C. mayaorum sp. nov. is a very unusual Cricotopus that cannot be easily placed in any of the known Cricotopus subgenera. Its hypopygium resembles species in the genus Eukiefferiella Thienemann, 1926, particularly Eukiefferiella ilkleyensis (Edwards, 1929) . A combination of decumbent dorsocentrals and hairy eyes identifies this adult male as a Cricotopus . Additionally, the color contrast of the abdominal tergites and those of the legs separates this adult male from those of Eukiefferiella species. The absence of superior volsella may suggest that the species belongs to the subgenus Cricotopus v. d. Wulp, 1874. The simple inferior volsella may suggest it belongs to the Isocladius Kieffer, 1909 . The presence of a thoracic humeral pit, finger-like, curved posteriorly inferior volsella, with a well-developed oral projection of sternapodeme and a reduced superior volsella suggests that this species belongs to the subgenus Paratrichocladius Santos Abreu, 1918 . However, the dorsocentrals of the new species are short and decumbent and arise directly from the cuticle and not the pale area, which does not fit the usual description of this subgenus (see Cranston and Krosch 2015). A combination of numerous long microtrichia in the posterior of the scutum, with a fusiform gonostylus, lacking crista dorsalis, suggests that the new species may belong to a new subgenus altogether. In the absence of more materials and immature stages for comparison, it is not possible to establish this. Therefore, for now, we recognize the new species as unplaced within the genus Cricotopus until more specimens are obtained for molecular analysis and morphological examination, including the immature stages.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1FDAAE1D95EB52A8887FA1A7B2FA0629	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Namayandeh, Armin;Vasquez, Adrian A.	Namayandeh, Armin, Vasquez, Adrian A. (2026): New species and faunistic records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) from Belize. ZooKeys 1270: 223-244, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1270.178431
724A05D21D145FD0A952E4FA4617E983.text	724A05D21D145FD0A952E4FA4617E983.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Labrundinia belizensis Namayandeh & Vasquez 2026	<div><p>Labrundinia belizensis sp. nov.</p><p>Fig. 3</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype, • 1 male; Belize: Guanacaste National Park, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-88.78813&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=17.262083" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -88.78813/lat 17.262083)">Belize River</a>; 17.262083, -88.788134; leg. A. A. Vasquez; dep. ARC . Paratypes, • 2 males, same as holotype .</p><p>Diagnostic characters.</p><p>The adult male of Labrundinia belizensis sp. nov. differs from related species by the combination of the following characters: Abdominal tergite I with a faintly greyish-brown mid tergite patch, tergite II with a darker and smaller mid-tergite patch; posterior 2 / 3 rd of tergite III with transverse brown band; posterior 1 / 3 rd of tergite IV with transverse brown band; tergites V – IX and hypopygium brown; AR 0.89–0.91; eye ratio 1.2–1.4; acrostichals 26; transverse sternapodeme without anterior process.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male (n = 3; unless otherwise stated). Total length 1.79–2.08, 1.90 mm. Wing length 1.20–1.27, 1.24 mm. Total length / wing length 1.40–1.53, 1.47. Wing length / profemur length 4.08–4.77, 4.43.</p><p>Coloration. Head, thorax brown. Abdominal tergite I with a faintly greyish-brown mid-tergite patch, tergite II with a darker and smaller mid-tergite patch; posterior 2 / 3 rd of tergite III with a transverse brown band; posterior 1 / 3 rd of tergite IV with a transverse brown band; tergites and sternites V – IX and hypopygium brown (Fig. 3 A). Sternites I – III light. Wings greyish brown. Halteres light. Femurs of all legs brown; tibia of all legs with anterior and posterior brown bands.</p><p>Head (Fig. 3 B, C). Antenna last flagellomere 258–271, 265 μm long; apical nipple with numerous short microtrichia and 6 sensilla chaetica (Fig. 3 B); AR 0.89–0.91, 0.90 (n = 2); subapical setae missing. Temporal setae 12, including 2 outer verticals and 6 inner verticals, horizontally uniserial, and 4 postorbitals, vertically uniserial (Fig. 3 B). Eye ratio 1.2–1.4 (2). Tentorium 103–133, 119 μm long. Clypeus 75–92, 84 μm long and 52–64, 60 μm wide (at widest section), bearing 9–15, 12 setae. Cibarial pump 179–180 μm long. Palpomeres 4 and 5 missing in all specimens examined; lengths of palpomeres 1–3 (in μm): 38–41, 40; 37–44, 41; 101–111, 106.</p><p>Thorax (Fig. 3 D). Acrostichals 30–34, 32, biserial, starting close to antepronotum reaching near scutellum; dorsocentrals 10–13, 12, irregularly uniserial; prealars 7, stretching close to parapsidal suture; supraalars 2; scutellars 8, uniserial. Antepronotal lobe with 5 basolateral setae.</p><p>Wing (Fig. 3 E). Anal lobe reduced. Costal 1.0– 1.07 mm long. Distance from vein r-m to arculus 447–466, 456 μm long; R with 24–30, 27 setae; R 1 with 19–27, 23 setae; R 4 + 5 with 52–64, 58 setae. Brachiolum with 3–4 setae. Squama with 8 setae. VR 0.66–0.69, 0.67.</p><p>Legs (Fig. 3 F, G). All tarsal segments missing. For and mid tibia spurs small, with 2 minute inner teeth, 16–20, 18 μm long. Hind tibia spur absent; comb with 7 spines and several dorsolateral long bristles. Fore to hind tibia width (in μm) at apex as follows: 27–30, 29; 24–27, 25; 34–35. Lengths and proportions of leg segments as in Table 1.</p><p>Hypopygium (Fig. 3 H). Tergite IX with 10–12 anterior setae. Membranous anal point dome-shaped, 27 μm long. Transverse sternapodeme 34–52, 42 μm long, without anterior process. Phallapodeme 51–52 μm long. Gonocoxite 85–103, 92 μm long. GcR 2.0–2.2. Gonostylus narrowing apically, 50–57, 54 μm long; megaseta 10–13, 11 μm long. HR 1.56–1.80, 1.69. HV 3.17–3.70, 3.51.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The new species is named after the country of Belize, where it was collected. The suffix - ensis is Latin, and it denotes belonging to a location.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>The coloration of the abdominal tergite of the new species resembles that of Labrundinia costaricae Silva, 2014, Labrundinia johannseni Beck &amp; Beck, 1966, and Labrundinia neopilosella Beck &amp; Beck, 1966 . The pattern of the brown bands of the new species differs on tergites I and II from that of the latter species. The new species also differs from the three related species by a higher eye ratio, a lower number of acrostichals, and a complete lack of the anterior process of the sternapodeme. It also differs from L. johannseni and L. neopilosella by a lower AR, and it differs from L. neopilosella by having an anal point without a notch (see da Silva et al. 2014).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/724A05D21D145FD0A952E4FA4617E983	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Namayandeh, Armin;Vasquez, Adrian A.	Namayandeh, Armin, Vasquez, Adrian A. (2026): New species and faunistic records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) from Belize. ZooKeys 1270: 223-244, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1270.178431
2C6039D2D3755E6E9F7B85A645FF50C9.text	2C6039D2D3755E6E9F7B85A645FF50C9.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Lauterborniella solangelhugo Namayandeh & Vasquez 2026	<div><p>Lauterborniella solangelhugo sp. nov.</p><p>Fig. 6</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype • 1 male; Belize: Guanacaste National Park, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-88.79027&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=17.261936" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -88.79027/lat 17.261936)">Roaring Creek, trib. to Belize River</a>; 17.261937, -88.790266; leg. A. A. Vasquez; dep. ARC . Paratypes • 2 males; same as holotype .</p><p>Diagnostic characters.</p><p>The adult male of L. solangelhugo sp. nov. can be separated from the related species by a combination of the following: Abdominal tergites I – IV and VI – VIII brown with a narrow and pale apical transverse band; tergite V uniformly light; AR 1.2–1.3; temporal setae 10, uniserial; acrostichals 5–8; dorsocentrals 8–12; R + R 1 with 16–26; R 4 + 5 with 12–16; VR 1.2–1.4; mid tergite IX with 5 or 6 long, simple setae, apex of tergite IX with rows of short, simple setae; anal point absent; sternapodeme tick, without oral projections.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male (n = 3; unless otherwise stated). Total length 2.81–3.42, 3.21 mm. Wing length 1.48–1.62, 1.56 mm. Total length / wing length 1.89–2.16, 2.05. Wing length / profemur length 1.48–1.52, 1.49.</p><p>Coloration. Head, antenna, and thorax brown. Wing yellowish-brown. Halteres light. Anterior 1 / 4 th of fore femur and anterior 1 / 3 rd of fore tibia brown, remainder of segments stramineous; other legs stramineous. Abdominal tergites I – IV and VI – VIII brown with a narrow and pale apical transverse band; tergite V uniformly light (Fig. 6 A); abdominal sternites I – V stramineous, VI – VIII brown.</p><p>Head (Fig. 6 B, C). Antenna with 13 flagellomeres, flagellomeres 2–4 with a pair of long and slender sensilla chaetica, last flagellomere with 6 sensilla chaetica; AR 1.21–1.27, 1.24. Temporal setae 10, uniserial (n = 2). Clypeus nearly squared, 73–87, 81 μm long and 68–87, 76 μm wide, bearing 10–14, 12 setae. Tentorium 125–166, 148 μm long. Length of palpomeres (in μm): 45–65, 56; 40–44, 42; 112–123, 118; 122–141, 132; 266 (n = 1).</p><p>Thorax (Fig. 6 D). Acrostichals 5–8, 7 (n = 2); dorsocentrals 8–12, 10, uniserial; prealars 1; scutellars 4, uniserial. Antepronotal lobe well-separated and bare.</p><p>Wing (Fig. 6 E). Anal lobe well-reduced. R + R 1 with 16–26, 22 setae; R 4 + 5 with 12–16, 13 setae. Brachiolum with 1 seta. VR 1.24–1.36, 1.29. Squama bare. Microtrichia visible at 20 × magnification.</p><p>Legs (Fig. 6 F). Fore tarsus missing. Fore tibia with shallow scale and single spur, 29–33, 32 (Fig. 6 F 1). Mid tibia with divided comb and single spur, 43–58, 50 μm long (Fig. 6 F 2). Hind tibia with divided comb and single spur, 57–65, 61 μm long. Pulvilli present. Lengths and proportions of legs as in Table 4.</p><p>Hypopygium (Fig. 6 H). Tergite band present but short. Mid tergite IX with 5–6 long, simple setae, apex of tergite IX with rows of short, simple setae. Anal point absent. Sternapodeme 41–49, 46 μm long, tick, without oral projections. Phallapodeme 45–61, 53 μm long. Superior volsella 48–49 μm long, broadly pediform. Inferior volsella 75–96, 85 μm long, sub-cylindrical with a cluster of long apicoventral setae. Gonocoxite 85–98, 90 μm long. Gonostylus narrow 119–130, 123 μm long. HR 0.7–0.75, 0.73; HV 2.36–2.80, 2.59.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The new species is named in honor of Solangel and Jose Hugo Vasquez, the co-author’s parents, for their many years of support.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>The new species is a very unusual Lauterborniella . Based on its absence of the anal point, at first glance, the species appears to belong to the genus Apedilum . However, the presence of fore tibia spur, separate tibial combs, presence of pulvilli, anal tergite band, median anal tergite setae, and rows of short apical setae on tergite IX places this species in Lauterborniella . The absence of the anal point and an unusually high antennal ratio distinguish L. solangelhugo sp. nov. from other known species of this genus.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2C6039D2D3755E6E9F7B85A645FF50C9	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Namayandeh, Armin;Vasquez, Adrian A.	Namayandeh, Armin, Vasquez, Adrian A. (2026): New species and faunistic records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) from Belize. ZooKeys 1270: 223-244, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1270.178431
D4DC6034DFC4596BA632FB7CECB20E19.text	D4DC6034DFC4596BA632FB7CECB20E19.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Polypedilum (Tripodura) francisae Namayandeh & Vasquez 2026	<div><p>Polypedilum (Tripodura) francisae sp. nov.</p><p>Fig. 7</p><p>Type material.</p><p>Holotype • 1 male; Belize, Guanacaste National Park, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-88.79027&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=17.261936" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -88.79027/lat 17.261936)">Roaring Creek, trib. to Belize River</a>; 17.261937, -88.790266; leg. A. A. Vasquez; dep. ARC . Paratypes • 2 males; same as holotype; except one male with only the hypopygium.</p><p>Diagnostic characters.</p><p>The adult male of P. francisae sp. nov. can be separated from the related species by a combination of the following: AR 1.72–1.83; wing with a faint, large patch covering the basal portion of cell r 4 + 5 and anteromedial portion of cell m 1 + 2, faint patches also on the basal portion of cells m 3 + 4, cu, and an; anal point broad and conoid with small basal notches; superior volsella robust, and tubular with a branch of long, basolateral, spine-like setae; gonostylus narrow and curved.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Male (n = 2; unless otherwise stated). Total length 3.07–3.15, 3.11 mm. Wing 1.57–1.61, 1.59 mm long and 0.46–0.47 mm wide. Total length / wing length 1.96. Wing length / profemur length 3.79–3.94, 3.87.</p><p>Coloration. Head, antenna, thorax, abdomen, and hypopygium brown. Wing pale brown with a faint patch covering the basal portion of cell r 4 + 5 and anteromedial portion of cell m 1 + 2, faint patches also on the basal portion of cells m 3 + 4, cu, and an.</p><p>Head (Fig. 7 A). Antenna with 13 flagellomeres; 2 nd - 4 th flagellomeres each with a pair of long, thin sensilla chaetica as long as the segment bearing them; last flagellomere with 8 sensilla chaetica; AR 1.72–1.83, 1.78. Temporal setae 10, uniserial (n = 2). Clypeus nearly squared, 61–94, 78 μm long and 99 μm wide, bearing 20–26, 23 setae. Tentorium 146–163, 155 μm long. Length of palpomeres (in μm; 3–5 (n = 1)): 50–54, 52; 41–43, 42; 130; 150; 216.</p><p>Thorax. Acrostichals 20–21; dorsocentrals 15–16, uniserial; prealars 5; scutellars 10, uniserial. Antepronotal lobe well-separated, bare.</p><p>Wing (Fig. 7 B). Anal lobe well-reduced. R with 17–21, 19 setae; R 1 with 16–19, 17 setae; R 4 + 5 with 31–40, 35 setae. Brachiolum with 1 seta. Squama with 5–7 setae. VR 1.23–1.26, 1.25.</p><p>Legs (Fig. 7 C-E). Fore tarsus missing. Fore tibia with prominent triangular scale, 41–43 μm long. Mid tibia with divided comb and single spur, 67–72, 70 μm long. Hind tibia with divided comb and single spur, 53–63, 58 μm long. Lengths and proportions of legs as in Table 5.</p><p>Hypopygium (n = 3; Fig. 7 F, G). Posterior tergite IX with lateral projections 21–26, 23 μm long. Anal point conoid with small basal notches, 59–76, 66 μm long, 23–24 μm wide at the base, and 15–22, 18 μm wide at the apex. Sternapodeme 53–62, 57 μm long. Phallapodeme 68–73, 71 μm long. Superior volsella 68 μm long, robust, and tubular with a branch of long, basolateral, spine-like setae. Inferior volsella 117–132, 126 μm long, sub-cylindrical with a cluster of long apicoventral setae. Gonocoxite 100–109, 105 μm long. Gonostylus narrow and curved, 185–195, 191 μm long. HR 0.54–0.56; HV 1.62–1.66, 1.64.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The new species is named in honor of Francis Vasquez, the co-author’s wife, for her many years of support.</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>P. francisae sp. nov. closely resembles the Nearctic species Polypedilum (Tripodura) digitifer Townes, 1945, and Polypedilum (Tripodura) griseopunctatum (Malloch, 1915) . The tergite IX of P. digitifer has numerous setae, particularly adjacent to the anal point. The tergite IX of P. francisae sp. nov. and P. griseopunctatum have only a few setae with no long setae adjacent to the base of their anal point. The anal point of P. francisae sp. nov. is longer on average, 66 μm, and narrower, 23–24 μm at the base and 15–22 μm at the apex. Soponis and Simpson (1992) did not provide any measurements for the anal points of P. digitifer and P. griseopunctatum . However, based on examination of the adult males of these species from Alabama, USA, both species have on average shorter (53–59, 56 μm &amp; 57 μm, respectively) and wider anal points (33–40, 37 &amp; 33 μm at base; 21–28, 23 &amp; 28 μm at apex, respectively). The apex of P. francisae sp. nov. anal point is conoid, whereas P. digitifer and P. griseopunctatum are crescent-shaped. P. griseopunctatum anal point is setose with numerous minute lateral setae, whereas those of P. digitifer and P. francisae sp. nov. are bare (Fig. 8 A – C). The superior volsella of the new species has a branch of long, basolateral, spine-like setae, which is only present basally on P. griseopunctatum superior volsella. However, species differ in the shape and size of their superior volsella (Fig. 8 A – C). P. griseopunctatum superior volsella is 70–74 μm long; whereas those of P. digitifer and P. francisae sp. nov. are 47–65 μm and 68 μm long, respectively. Polypedilum digitifer wing has no markings, whereas P. francisae sp. nov. and P. griseopunctatum have markings, albeit those of P. griseopunctatum are more prominent (Figs 7 B, 8 D, 8 E). The fore tibia scales of P. digitifer and P. francisae sp. nov. are wider with short spinous apex, whereas P. griseopunctatum fore tibia scale is narrower and has a long spinous apex (Figs 7 C, 8 F, 8 G). Among the Neotropical species, the apex of the anal point of the new species resembles those of Polypedilum (Tripodura) epomis Sublette &amp; Sasa, 1994, Polypedilum (Tripodura) luteopedis Sublette &amp; Sasa, 1994, Polypedilum (Tripodura) titicacae Roback &amp; Coffman, 1983, Polypedilum (Tripodura) bacalar Vinogradova, 2008, and Polypedilum (Tripodura) scharfi Vinogradova, 2008 . However, the latter species lack a basal notch on their anal points. Furthermore, their posterior tergite IX lateral projections are much shorter compared to the new species. Among the Neotropical species, P. titicacae and Polypedilum (Tripodura) umayo Roback &amp; Coffman, 1983 have superior volsella with spine-like setae. However, the latter species, superior volsellae, differ in shape and size from the new species.</p><p>Based on Bidawid and Fittkau’s (1995) categorizations of the morphological characters of the Neotropical Polypedilum, the new species is characterized as in Table 6.</p><p>The genus is under revision for the Neotropical realm. The faunistic records, descriptions, and major studies on the Neotropical species of Polypedilum can be found in the works of Armitage et al. (2025), Ballesteros et al. (2022), Baranov et al. (2020), Bello-González et al. (2024), da Silva et al. (2023), Pinho and da Silva (2020), Pinho et al. (2015), Bidawid and Fittkau (1995), Bidawid-Kafka (1996), Fuentes and Donato (2014), Mendes et al. (2011), Roback and Coffman (1983), Shimabukuro et al. (2019), Sublette and Sasa (1994), and Vinogradova (2008).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D4DC6034DFC4596BA632FB7CECB20E19	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Namayandeh, Armin;Vasquez, Adrian A.	Namayandeh, Armin, Vasquez, Adrian A. (2026): New species and faunistic records of Chironomidae (Diptera, Insecta) from Belize. ZooKeys 1270: 223-244, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1270.178431
