Simulium (Simulium) monticola Friederichs

Crosskey, Roger W. & Crosskey, Margaret E., 2000, An investigation of the black ¯ y fauna of Andalusia, southern Spain (Diptera: Simuliidae), Journal of Natural History 34 (6), pp. 895-951 : 931-933

21. Simulium (Simulium) monticola Friederichs

Spain references: Grenier and Bertrand (1954), Grenier and Dorier (1959), Carlsson (1969,

monticola and Odagmia variegata , in part). GonzaÂlez PenÄa (1990), VincËon and Clergue-

Gazeau (1993, as maximum but believed to refer to monticola ).

Andalusia records

Authors’ material. Site 53: 10 pupae, 12 larvae (22.iii.1996). Site 118: 1 pupa (incomplete exuviae, slides) (18.v.1986).

Other specimens seen. Granada: 2m, RõÂo LanjaroÂn, 9 km NW of Orgiva , 1600 m

[VF58], 15.iv.1966 (Lyneborg and Langemark) (ZMC) [ monticola in Carlson, 1969]; 1m, Sierra Nevada, N slope of Veleta, 2400 m [VG60], 25.vii.1960 (Vockeroth) (CNC), 4, l 1m, same locality, 2200±2400 m, 30.vii.1960 (Vockeroth) (CNC, 1 l BMNH) [all misident.`Odagmia variegata ’ in Carlsson, 1969].

Previous reports. Granada: Sierra Nevada, RõÂo LanjaroÂn [VF58] (ref. VincËon and Clergue-Gazeau, 1993, as maximum but here thought to apply to monticola ); Sierra Nevada, Val TreveÂlez, RõÂo Juntillas and RõÂo Puerta de Jerez [VF79] (ref. Grenier and Bertrand, 1954);`CordilleÁre beÂtique’ (Grenier and Dorier, 1959). (Also Carlsson, 1969: see data for specimens seen.)

Remarks

Identi®cation of this species in our material has presented a problem because of the uncertain relationship of the nominal species S. maximum Knoz to S. monticola Friederichs. These nominal species of the European mainland need cytotaxonomic study to determine their relationship to one another for it is by no means certain that maximum (though apparently averaging larger than monticola ) is a valid species distinct from monticola . Both are characteristic of mountain regions and in Central Europe have been found sympatric in some places. They are extremely alike in all life stages and are also closely similar to three other Simulium s.str. species in which the six ®laments of the pupal gill are coalesced at the base (®gure 46) and form a rather tight bundle, namely S. sicanum Rivosecchi of southern Italy and Sicily and S. atlasicum and S. berberum from Morocco (Giudicelli and Bouzidi, 1989). However, monticola -like material from Andalusia de®nitely does not belong to any of these species: the pupal microtubercles are of the ¯at discoid type found in monticola and maximum , not of the S. sicanum spicate type (Rivosecchi, 1978), and the beak-like process of the ventral plate has the very short and broad pro®le of monticola / maximum , not the long and narrow poodle-muzzle pro®le (exactly like that of ornatum s.l.) described for S. berberum and S. atlasicum .

To help resolve whether our Andalusian material should be identi®ed as S. monticola or S. maximum a comparison has been made based primarily on the pupal stage and using, for S. maximum , specimens supplied and identi®ed as this species by specialist colleagues in Germany. The size and form of the heavy gill base from which the ®laments spring appear alike in both species, but (in the limited material available) three small diOEerences are evident in the lowermost pair of ®laments (®laments 5 and 6 in ®gure 46): in maximum these two ®laments arise from a very short (just detectable) common stalk, are of subequal thickness, and lie closely parallel to one another (scarcely any divergence of ®lament 6 from the other ®laments); in monticola these two ®laments (5 and 6) arise independently from the swollen gill base (no de®nite trace of common stalk), ®lament 6 is conspicuously thinner near the base than ®lament 5 and nearly always diverges conspicuously from that ®lament (as in ®gure 46). When the base of the monticola gill is viewed from directly above only three ®laments are visible (®gure 47) but in maximum a fourth ®lament can usually just be seen. Using these criteria as a basis for identi®cation we conclude that material from Andalusia should be identi®ed as S. monticola .

Simulium monticola appears to be almost con®ned in Andalusia to the Sierra Nevada area, breeding in cold tumbling rivers of the Alpujarras. The only other record is provided by our ®nding of a single pupal exuviae near the source of RõÂo Guadalquivir (basis of the gill illustration in ®gures 46, 47). We have not seen specimens on which the record by VincËon and Clergue-Gazeau (1993) of S. maximum from RõÂo LanjaroÂn was based but we assume they were conspeci®c with our material from the nearby RõÂo TreveÂlez and are therefore S. monticola as here identi®ed.