Rheotanytarsus Thienemann & Bause, 1913

Namayandeh, Armin, Hudson, Patrick L., Bogan, Daniel L. & Hudson, John P., 2024, Chironomidae (Diptera: Insecta) of Alaska, USA, with descriptions of new species and a checklist, Zootaxa 5511 (1), pp. 1-95 : 83

Rheotanytarsus Thienemann & Bause, 1913

Two species of Rheotanytarsus have been recorded from Alaska. Rheotanytarsus pentapoda (Kieffer, 1909) was reported from the Slikok Creek watershed by Bowser et al. (2020) and from Preserve Lake Creek in Denali National Park by Webb et al. (2022). We collected a pupa of Rheotanytarsus pellucidus (Walker, 1848) . This is a new faunistic record for Alaska. Rheotanytarsus larvae were collected from Maybeso Creek on Prince of Wales Island by Schultz & DeSanto (2006), and from the Koyukuk and Koktuli Rivers and Arctic Coastal Plain streams reported in Arctos (2023). Additional reports of Rheotanytarsus larvae come from our collections from the East Fork of the Moose River and South Fork of Campbell Creek in the Southcoastal bioregion; Grey’s, Meadow, and Troublesome Creeks in the Central bioregion; and many streams in Southwestern Alaska. Rheotanytarsus larvae are found in the flowing waters and the littoral zone of lakes where wave action causes water movement. The larvae construct cases with silken arms on stones and vegetation to catch suspended detritus ( Epler et al. 2013).