Microtendipes Kieffer, 1915

Chamutiová, Tímea, Hamerlík, Ladislav & Bitušík, Peter, 2020, Subfossil chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) of lakes in the Tatra Mountains an illustrated guide, Zootaxa 4819 (2), pp. 216-264 : 251

Microtendipes Kieffer ( Fig. 86 )

Head capsule brownish with dark brown occipital margin. Antenna 6-segmented, Lauterborn organs alternate on segments 2 and 3. Premandible with 3 ( pedellus - type) or 5 (rydalensis - type) teeth. Mandible with pale dorsal tooth, apical tooth and 3 inner teeth darkly pigmented. Median tooth of mentum trifid, pale or as dark as rest of mentum; central tooth either very small, so median tooth appears to consists of two teeth ( pedellus - type), or about the same size as outer medians (rydalensis - type); 6 pairs of lateral teeth, while first and second laterals fused. Ventromental plates narrow and strongly curved and coarsely striated on upper half.

Remarks: The mentum with 3, usually pale, median teeth and mandible with 3 inner teeth are distinctive. Superficially similar genera Omisus and Paratendipes have 4 median mental teeth. In comparison with Stictochironomus the first lateral tooth of mentum is not lower than second.

Only Microtendipes chloris (Meigen, 1818) , belonging to the pedellus species group is known form the Tatra Mts. lakes. Subfossil remains belonging to one morphotype were found in the lakes situated at lower altitude in sub-alpine zone.

Figures

FIGURES 85–90. Lauterborniella: 85—head capsule (arrow indicates ventromental plate). Microtendipes pedellus-type: 86— head capsule. Pagastiella orophila: 87—head capsule (arrow indicates position of seta submenti). Phaenopsectra flavipes-type: 88—head capsule, A—mandible. Polypedilum nubeculosum-type: 89—head capsule (arrow indicates two inner teeth of the mandible). Polypedilum sordens-type: 90—head capsule (arrow indicates three inner teeth of the mandible).