Acinoretracus, A New Afrotropical Genus for Some Species Previously Placed in Dicrotendipes (Diptera: Chironomidae: Chironominae)

Abstract

Compared to the western Palaearctic and most of the Nearctic, the taxonomy of the midge family Chironomidae from the Afrotropical region is poorly known. Generic relationships of many species are uncertain because their immature stages, often necessary for delimiting genera, are unknown, in spite of their ecological importance in African fresh waters. Here we report on reared material of several problematic species that require establishment of a new genus. Goetghebuer (1936) placed a newly described Afrotropical species, Chironomus regalis, in the subgenus Carteria Kieffer, 1921. Carteria had been shown earlier (Strand 1928) to be preoccupied by Carteria Diesing, 1866; Strand (1928) offered Carteronica as a replacement name; Tendipes longilobus (Kieffer, 1916) was retained as the type-species. Freeman (1957) considered Carteronica to be a synonym of Chironomus (Dicrotendipes). Later workers, such as Hamilton et al. (1969), re-elevated Dicrotendipes Kieffer, 1913, to generic status. Epler (1987:19, 1988:9, 32) noted that four Afrotropical species placed in Dicrotendipes by Freeman & Cranston (1980) could not be maintained in that genus. Epler (1988) also stated that Carteronica was not a synonym of Dicrotendipes, and that Carteronica longilobus did not belong with those Afrotropical species previously considered to belong to Carteronica. Cranston et al. (1990) showed that C. longilobus was best placed in Kiefferulus Goetghebuer, 1922; Carteronica became a junior synonym of Kiefferulus. Based on the morphology of the adult genitalia and the immature stages, the Afrotropical species 'Dicrotendipes' multispinosus (Freeman, 1957) and 'D.' penicillatus (Freeman, 1957) require establishment of a new genus. Similarities in the adult genitalia, and to a 209

Taxonomic diversity and biogeography of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) in lakes of tropical West Africa using subfossil remains extracted from surface sediments

“…The present morphotype matches A. multispinosus described from Lake Opi in Nigeria (in Cranston et al. , 1990, as Carteronica multispinosus Freeman; see Epler et al. , 1998), and is also virtually identical to subfossil Acinoretractus near multispinosus (Freeman) from crater lakes in Uganda (Eggermont & Verschuren, 2004b) but that morphotype has an elliptical anteromedian fenestra (not circular), and its frontal apotome is somewhat constricted in the apical one‐fourth.…”

Clarification of Einfeldia Kieffer, 1922 (Diptera: Chironomidae) with E. australiensis (Freeman, 1961), comb. n. based on immature stages

“…The pupa has low rounded cephalic tubercles; there is an anteriorly directed flange-like lobe on the base of the thoracic horn and pedes spurii B are lacking (Epler et al 1998).…”

New species of Ablabesmyia Johannsen (Diptera, Chironomidae, Tanypodinae) from the Neotropical Region, with description of male adults and immature stages

“…The thorax and abdomen of the adults were cleared in a 10% KOH solution. The terminology follows those proposed by SAETHER (1980), ROBACK (1985), KOWALYK (1985) and LANGTON (1994); the measurements follow EPLER (1988), except for the length of the cephalic capsule of the larva, which was determined by measuring the ventral length from the anterior margin to the post-occipital margin.…”