Riethia stictoptera Kieffer, 1917

Cranston, Peter S., 2019, Riethia (Kieffer 1917) (Diptera: Chironomidae) revised for the Austro-Pacific region, Zootaxa 4646 (3), pp. 461-500 : 486-488

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4646.3.3
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:25CA4A18-955F-4EA7-8978-E93032B54A2E
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/B3370110-9B26-1E7B-C68C-FC29FD09362A
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Riethia stictoptera Kieffer
status

Treatment

Riethia stictoptera Kieffer View in CoL

( Figs. 1E View FIGURE 1 , 2K View FIGURE 2 , 4D, 4H View FIGURE 4 , 5B, C, I View FIGURE 5 , 6N View FIGURE 6 )

Riethia stictoptera Kieffer 1917: 203 View in CoL

Riethia astictica Kieffer 1917: 205 View in CoL . Synonymy by Freeman 1961: 678.

[All types of both species, MNH (Musei Nationalis Hungarici, Budapest, Hungary) believed lost by Freeman 1961; not found since].

Material examined (collected Cranston, deposited ANIC, unless otherwise stated) : AUSTRALIA: Queensland ♂, McIlwraith Range, 15 km WNW Bald Hill , [estimated 13°44’S 143°20’E], 27.vi.–12.vii.1989 (Naumann) #2103 GoogleMaps ; 1♂, 8Pe, nr. Mareeba, Davies Ck., 17°01'S 145°35'E, 17–18.xii.1997, #2104–5, 3 Pe , 19–20.vi.1997 GoogleMaps ; 3 Pe , 27– 28.viii.1997, 8 Pe , 17–18.xii.1997 ; 4 Pe , Palmerston N.P., Learmouth Ck., 17°35'S 145°42'E, 8–9.iv.1997, #2107 GoogleMaps ; Le /P, nr Cardwell , 5 Mile Ck., 18°19.41'S 146°02.55'E, 17.xii.1997, #2110 GoogleMaps ; ♂, Lawn Hill N.P., Musselbrook, Am- phitheatre, 18°21'S 133°51'E, 13.v.1995, #2108 GoogleMaps ; Le / Pe / ♀, Paluma, Birthday Ck., 1.x.1998 (McKie) ; Pe, unnamed ck. s. of Paluma , 19°01’S 146°13’E, 25–26.iii.1998 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Eungella N.P., Dalrymple Rock Rd. , 950 m a.s.l., 21°02’S 148°34’E, 22.iii.1998. GoogleMaps

New South Wales: Pe, Chaelundi S.F., Chandlers Ck., 30°02.22'S 152°29.26'E, 11.iv.1996, #2132 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Barrington Tops, Dilgry R., 31°54'S 151°34'E, 14.iv.1990, #2119 GoogleMaps ; ♂ (mounted from pinned by Cranston), Hornsby , 9.x.1958, at light (D.J. Lee) det. P. Freeman 1958 ; Pe, Farnworth Ave., Megarritys Ck., 33°53.10'S 150°36.30'E, 7.v.1993 (' AWT ’), #2154 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Scotchey’s Ck., Lachlan Ck., 33°54'S 151°27'E, 7.v.1993 (' AWT ’), #2154 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Belmore Falls , Barrengarry R., 34°38'S 150°33'E, 16.xii.1992, #2122 GoogleMaps ; 3Pe, 3.iv.1991 ; Pe, Taralgo Ck., 34°22′S 149°54′E, 8.x.1991 (Drayson) #2136 GoogleMaps ; ♂, 12 m. west of Euston , 34°45’S 142°45’E, AN#28, 18.xii.1967 (Nankivell & Gassner) GoogleMaps ; Pe, nr. Tarago, L. Bathurst, e. shore (the Morass), 35°03′S 149°44′E, 16.x.1993, #2130 GoogleMaps ; 3Pe, Endrick R., 6 km. E. of Nerriga, 35°05′S 150°08′E, 1.ix.1988, #2116 GoogleMaps ; Shoalhaven R., 2Pe, Hillview, 35°11'S 149°57'E, 17.iii.1992, #2127 GoogleMaps ; ♂, Windellama , 35°21'S 149°44'E, 17.ii.2019 GoogleMaps ; Le / Pe / ♀, Warri Bridge , 35°21'S 149°44'E, 28.i.1992 GoogleMaps ; 4Pe, 31.iii.1991, #2123 ; Pe, 17.iii.1992, #2125 ; 3Pe, Monga S.F. [N.P.], Mongarlowe R., 35°23'S 149°55'E, 2.ii.1991, #2120 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Ballalaba Bridge, 35°34'S 149°47'E, 2.ii.1991, #2124 GoogleMaps ; Le/Pe, Currowan S.F., Cabbage Tree Ck., 35°34'S 150°02'E, 30.iii.1994, #2128,9 GoogleMaps ; 5 Pe, 21.i.1999 ( MVAUS09 CTC#) ; Pe, Kosciuszko N.P., Yarrangobilly R., 35°44'S 148°29'E, 15.i.1991, #2133 GoogleMaps ; Pe, S.W. Araluen, Deua R., 35°45'S 149°57'E, 9.xii.1990, #2118 GoogleMaps ; Pe, same except 29.iii.1988, #2117 ; 6Pe, Kosciuszko N.P., 3 Mile Dam, 25.xii.1991; #2134 ; ♂, 6 m. north of Narellan, 35°59'S 145°55'E, AN#28.1, 13.xii.1963 ( Martin ) GoogleMaps ; Albury, Murray River, Pe, Union Bridge, 36°05'S 146°58'E, #2150, P ♂, 30.i.1991 ( Cook ) GoogleMaps ; 8Pe, ‘Station 6’, 36°06'S 147°01'E, 26.vii.1989 (Taylor/Cook) #2151–2 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Noreuil Park, 36°05'S 146°56'E (Cook), #2138, Le/Pe/ ♀, 24.i.1990, #2139 GoogleMaps ; c. 50Pe, Waterworks, 36°07'S 146°54'E, vi.–1990 – iv.1991 (Cook) # 2140–49 GoogleMaps ; Le / Pe / ♂, ‘ Corp’ reared’ (? Cook) ; Mt. Imlay , Wallagaraugh R., 37°15'S 149°41'E, 13.i.1994, #2135. GoogleMaps

ACT / NSW: Jervis Bay , L. McKenzie, 35°09'S 140°41'E, 19.xii. 199 7, #2115; GoogleMaps 13Pe, 7.ix.1996 (Wright); Pe, 28.iv.1997; Pe, 12.ix.1997; 1 Pe, 4.i.1998; Pe, 7.ii.1998. GoogleMaps

ACT: ♂ (slide from pinned by Cranston GoogleMaps ), Gungahlin, 17.i.1959 (A.L.Dyce), det. Freeman 1960 ; L. Burley Griffin, Lotus Bay, 35°17'S 149°08'E, 29.xii.1991 (Rosewarne); #2114 GoogleMaps ; 2Pe, below Cotter dam, 35°21'S 149°56'E, 7.xi.1987; #2111 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Namadgi N.P., Orroral R., 35°39'S 149°59'E. GoogleMaps

Victoria: Wodonga, Middle Ck., Pe, Down St., 36°10'S 146°52'E 22.i.1990 (Cook) #2160 GoogleMaps ; 3 Pe, Beechworth Rd, 36°15'S 146°50'E (Cook) #2159 GoogleMaps ; Pe GoogleMaps , Boyes Rd. GoogleMaps , 7.xii.1989 (Cook) ; Le / Pe / ♀, Melbourne, Botanic Gardens, 37°50'S 145°00'E, 4.viii.1971 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; Le/Pe/ ♂, Belgrave Reservoir, 37°55'S 145°21'E, 23.vii.1969 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; Le/Pe/ ♂, Lilydale, 37°55’S 150°10’E, L. coll. 11.vii.1962, em. 7.xi.1962 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; Le/Pe/ ♀, same except L. coll. 16.vii.1962, em. 25.x.1962 ; ♀, Werribee R., 37°55’S 145°40’E, 21.xi.1985, L. coll. 21 xi.1995, em. 27.x.1962 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; 1♂, Yarra River GoogleMaps , 2km S. Wonga Park (Neboiss), 23.ii.1976 ; Pe, Swan L., 38°12'S 141°19'E, 20.xii.1996 (Wright). GoogleMaps

Tasmania: ♂, Flinders Island, Lady Barron, Scott’s Lagoon, AF 1#3.2, 40°10’S 148°22’E, 11.ii.1976 (Martin & Lee) GoogleMaps ; Le/Pe/ ♂, Table Cape, 7km n.w. Wynyard, 40°56’S 145°41’E (Martin) #2171 GoogleMaps ; 2Pe, Waterhouse CA, Little Waterhouse L., 40°52’S 147°36.5’E, 22.iii.1997 (Wright, Swanson) #2309 GoogleMaps ; 10Pe, nr Weldborough, Nothofagus Forest , 41°10’S 147°54’E, 20–25.iii.1993 (Trueman et al.). #2181–2 GoogleMaps ; Cradle Mt. – L. St Clair N.P., Pe, L. Ayr, 41°49’S 146°03’E, 25.i.1990, #2169 GoogleMaps ; ♂, Cradle Mt N. P., 41°41’S 145°50’E, AT#27.4, 18.x.1972 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; Pe, West Coast Ranges, L. Selina, 41°53’S 145°36’E, 27.iii.1997 (Wright, Swanson) #2310 GoogleMaps ; Pe , Central Plateau , nr. L. Ada, 1160 m a.s.l., 41°53’S 146°25’E, 15.iii.1997 ( Wright ) GoogleMaps ; ♂, L. Leake, 42°00’S 147°48’E, AT#29.1, 21.x.1972 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; Le/ P., L. St Clair (Martin, Timms) #2169 ; Pe, L. St Clair, 42°06’S 146°11’E, 19.i.1990, #2173 GoogleMaps ; ♂, Le/Pe/ ♂, Penstock La- goon, 13 miles S. Miena, 42°05’S 146°46’E, 1.x.1971 (Martin) GoogleMaps ; 2Pe, Forgotten L., 980 m a.s.l., 42°06’S 146°07’E, 25.iii.1997 (Wright) #2311 GoogleMaps ; ♂ (pharate), Tooms L., 28 km. south-east of Ross, 42°19’S 148°10’E,AT#18.1, 12.x.1972 (Martin & Timms) GoogleMaps ; Pe, Mt. Field N.P., Backhouse Tarn, 1140 m a.s.l., 42°40’S 146°34’E, 7.ii.1992, #2174 GoogleMaps ; Pe, L. Seal, 900 m a.s.l, 42°40’S 146°35’E, #2180 GoogleMaps ; 3Pe, 1♂, L. Fenton, 1006 m a.s.l,, 42°40’S 146°37’E, #2178, 9 GoogleMaps ; 2 Pe, L. Dobson, 1040 m a.s.l,, 42°41’S 146°35’E, #2177 GoogleMaps ; L, 2 Pe, Fairy Tarn, 940 m a.s.l,, 42°42’S 146°35’E, 7.ii.1992, #2175–6 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Beatties Tarn, 970 m a.s.l., 42°42’S 146°48’E (Wright) #2313. GoogleMaps

South Australia: 5 Pe, Ewens Ponds, 38°01'S 140°49.5'E, 19.xii.1996 (Wright) #2307; GoogleMaps 4Pe, Mount Gambier, L. Edward, 37°37.6'S 140°36.2'E, 22.xii.1996 (Wright), #2308 GoogleMaps ; Pe / ♂, 7 m. depth, 19.viii.1975 (Martin, Canning); #2167.

Western Australia: 3♂, Kimberley, Synnot Ck., CALM site 25/1, 16°31’S 125°16’E, 17–20.vi.1988 (Weir) #2102. GoogleMaps

Northern Territory: 5♂, 1♀, Kakadu N.P., Radon Spring, 12°45’S 132°55’E, 13–14.iv.1989, #2095 GoogleMaps ; ♂, Boro- alba Creek Springs, 19 km. NE by E. Mt Cahill, 22.dec.1972, D.H. Colless, at light ; ♂, Graveside Ck., 13°18’S 132°32’E, viii.1989 ( Dostine ) #2098 GoogleMaps ; Pe, Arnhem Land, nr. Narbaluk, Cooper Ck., 12°18’S 133°20’E, 27.v.1988, #2099 GoogleMaps ; Pe, W. MacDonnell Range, inner Serpentine Gorge, 23°35’S 132°31’E, 8.iii.1995, #2101 GoogleMaps ; 2Pe, Serpentine Gorge, 23°41’S 133°43’E, 27.v.1992, #2100. GoogleMaps

Other material. Le/Pe/ ♂, Victoria, Emu Bottom (Martin) AV.141 ( ZSM), det. Riethia stictoptera by Martin, confirmed M. Spies (pers. comm. 2019). GoogleMaps

Description. Male. Thorax brown, with distinctive darker vittae. Legs pale with brown bands across femoraltibial junctions, at apices of tibia and tarsomeres 1–3, and all of tarsomeres 4–5; abdomen with brown transverse bands on segments 2–4 or 5. Wing membrane darkened over forks of R and FCu. TIX setae fine, long medially, shorter laterally, arranged into two closely approximated clusters. Genitalia ( Fig. 1E View FIGURE 1 ) with uniquely shaped gonostylus, triangular, tapering medially to narrow and slightly hooked point, bearing only simple setae. Superior volsella ( Fig. 2K View FIGURE 2 ) large medially directed lobe, with microtrichia and macrotrichia, without posterior projection. Inferior volsella separate from superior volcella, fused to inner margin of gonocoxite excepting short free section, with long simple setae, without pectinate scales. Pseudovolsella absent. Mensural features as in Table 1 View TABLE 1 .

Female. Pigmentation as in male, AR 0.35, LR 1 1.0–1.05.

Pupa. Brown with darker dorsal thorax, anterior wing sheaths and lateral apophyses on all abdominal segments; comb brown. Cephalothorax with crenulate frons without warts, thorax rugose with multiserial tubercle rows on anterior dorsum. Hook row on II continuous, occupying c 45–50% tergite width, with continuous conjunctival spinule bands on III–IV. Pedes spurii B well developed on II, vortex large. Abdomen ( Fig. 4D View FIGURE 4 ): tergite II with small triangular area of armament narrower than and just anterior to hookrow, without anterior spines, TIII–V with armament more or less rectangular, quite dense, with anterior transverse band at least as broad and of larger spinules than of posterior armament, TIII–V with strong anterior spinules and attenuated triangular medioposterior area; TVI with anterior ovoid area slightly separated from posterior area, TVII and VIII with modest microspinulation anteriorly. Taeniate setae V–VIII 3, 4, 4, 5, on VIII with L 3–5 clustered with respect to L 1–2. Comb ( Fig. 4H View FIGURE 4 ) with 1 stronger, triangular spine directed postero-medially, 2–3 weaker inner spines. Anal lobe with 55–65 taeniae in disorganised biserial row.

Larva. Head capsule yellow with dark postmentum and broad almost black occipital margin; mentum ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ) and 4 inner mandibular teeth ( Fig. 5C View FIGURE 5 ) golden-brown. Clypeus ( Fig. 6N View FIGURE 6 ) oval, wider anteriorly with somewhat flared anterolateral lobes; clypeal setae placed near to lateral margin. Inner margin of mandible with one broad lobe near insertion of seta subdentalis and 3 spines near mid-point of mola. Antenna ( Fig. 5I View FIGURE 5 ) with AR 1.2–1.4; 3 rd segment much longer than 2 nd, with conventional wall (not thinned as in other taxa with long 3 rd segment). Ventromental plates 6–17% wider than mentum width. Mensural features as in Table 2 View TABLE 2 .

Diagnosis. The combination of banded legs and unique gonostylus morphology is diagnostic. The short gonostylus fused to, and uncertainly separated from the gonocoxite, tapers abruptly to a postero-medially directed point, and bears only simple setae.

The pupa of R. stictoptera is much less distinctive. It has a continuous hook row and conjunctives with continuous spinule rows restricted to III, IV with V bare. Tergite II is almost free of spinules, with, at most, postero-medially of small spinule area, narrower than the hook row. DIfferentiation from a rather similar pupa of R. plumosa can be made on the larger spinule area on tergite II of R. plumosa and lack of a pedes spurii B.

The larva of Riethia stictoptera has a characteristically darkened prementum but pale genae, an antennal ratio of c. 1.4 and the clypeus variably broadened anteriory ( Fig. 5M View FIGURE 5 ).

Remarks. The gonostylus shape of this species is unique and although the gonostylus illustrated by Kieffer (1917: Fig. 6b View FIGURE 6 ) is folded back on top of the gonocoxite, the diagnostic shape can be inferred.

A recent paper concerning Manoa by Qi et al. (2017) recognises two different barcode DNA sequences for R. stictoptera suggesting a misidentification in database(s). The author of sequence CAUS02310, identifies the vouchered larva as a species of Kiefferulus , and not Riethia (Dr Jon Martin, Melbourne, pers. comm.). As stated under R. azeylandica above, the larval voucher MV903 ( Cranston et al. 2010) identified as R. stictoptera is corrected here to R. azeylandica (q.v.).

Distribution and ecology. Riethia stictoptera is the most widespread and pollution tolerant of species of Riethia . Although the only Western Australian record is from the Kimberley (the n.w. of the state), the species occurs widely across the border in Northern Territory including the ‘red centre’ and in the centre of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula. In eastern Australia, R. stictoptera is found from 13°S to central Tasmania at 42°S and westwards in South Australian lakes. This species is found in a diversity of standing waters from ornamental pools, ponds, lowland billabongs to upland oligotrophic tarns. It is found also in large nutrient-enriched rivers such as the Murray River between Victoria and New South Wales.