Chironomus Meigen, 1803

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 : 247

Chironomus Meigen ( Figs 72–75 )

Head capsule yellow, often with more or less obvious pigmented on frontoclypeus and on submentum. Occipital margin dark brown to black. Antenna 5-segmented. Premadible usually with 2 teeth. Mandible usually with 2 pale dorsal teeth (often hardy visible), dark apical tooth, and 2–3 inner teeth. Mentum with trifid median tooth, 6 pairs of lateral teeth, first 2 mostly closely appressed. Ventromental plates broad, usually each plate about as wide as mentum or somewhat wider.

Remarks: The shape of the three median teeth is distinctive among other Chironomini with exception of Einfeldia pagana - type ( Brooks et al. 2007), which has large heart-shape fenestra on frontoclypeus.

Recently, two species were reliably identified from the lakes in the Tatra Mts.: Chironomus (Chironomus) striatus Strenzke, 1959 and C. (Lobochironomus) montuosus Ryser, Wülker & Scholl, 1985 ( Matěna & Frouz 2000; Bitušík 2004).

Chironomus subfossils were found only in acidified Tatra Mts. lakes. Two morhotypes were recognised following Brooks et al. (2007).

Figures

FIGURES 72–78. Chironomus anthracinus-type: 72—head capsule (arrow indicates two inner teeth of the mandible). C. anthracinus-type: 73—head capsule (arrow indicates three inner teeth of the mandible). Chironomus plumosus-type: 74—head capsule (arrow indicates three inner teeth of the mandible). C. plumosus-type: 75—head capsule (arrow indicates two inner teeth of the mandible). Cladopelma lateralis-type: 76—head capsule. Dicrotendipes nervosus-type: 77—frontal apotome (arrow indicates crenulated anterior margin). Dicrotendipes notatus-type: 78—frontal apotome (arrow indicates antero-median fenestra).