Allocladius Kieffer

Andersen, Trond, Saether, Ole A. & Mendes, Humberto F., 2010, Neotropical Allocladius Kieffer, 1913 and Pseudosmittia Edwards, 1932 (Diptera: Chironomidae) 2472, Zootaxa 2472 (1), pp. 1-77 : 5

Allocladius Kieffer

Allocladius Kieffer, 1913: 28 .

Allocladius Kieffer ; Freeman and Cranston (1980: 181); Ashe (1983: 10); Ferrington and Saether (in manuscript).

Lindebergia Tuiskunen, 1984: 121 .

Prosmittia Brundin, 1956: 165 sensu Cranston and Oliver, 1988: 449 , pro parte, misidentification; Oliver (1963: 177); Saether et al. (1984: 270). See Saether and Ferrington (1993).

Pseudosmittia auct. nec Edwards.

Type species. Allocladius niger Kieffer, 1913 .

Diagnostic characters. The imagines are separable from other Orthocladiinae with bare eyes, wings, and squama, by having 4–16 short non-scalpellate acrostichals in mid-scutum without additional tubercle, hump or microtrichial tuft; non-extended, non-protruding eyes; antepronotal lobes not reduced medially; supraalars usually present; anal lobe of wing mostly well developed, costa not extended to moderately long, VR high, Cu 1 sinuate to slightly curved. Male anal point usually placed forward on tergite IX on microtrichiose and setose base, apical part short to long, parallel-sided to slightly tapering, free of microtrichia at least at apex; single, plate- to spine-like, median virga; pars ventralis often present; superior volsella absent or more often present and bulge-like; male gonostylus simple. Female genitalia with gonocoxite IX long and low with characteristic sclerotized margin against tergite IX, tergite IX divided, small dorsomedian lobe, large ventrolateral lobe, and spermathecal duct with loop.

The pupae can be separated from other orthoclads by lacking a thoracic horn, having short frontal setae on frontal apotome, reduced or smoothly rounded anal lobe with fine hair-like anal macrosetae; three precorneals and two median antepronotals all fine and hair-like; conjunctives both dorsally and ventrally armed with similar sized spinules. Tergites II–VII with anterior and posterior spinules clearly larger than median spinules, resulting in a transversely striped appearance.

The larvae are separable from all other orthoclads except Camptocladius van der Wulp, 1874 , Pseudosmittia Edwards , and the new genus (Ferrington & Saether in manuscript) by having broad, bifid S I and S II, reduced antenna, and no procerci. They differ from Camptocladius by having posterior parapods with claws and premandible with brush. From Pseudosmittia they differ by having posterior parapods with 7–11 claws, mandible with 4 inner teeth, and antennal blade extending beyond flagellum about as long as width of basal segment. From the new genus they differ by having mandible with 4 inner teeth combined with about 40 longer claws on anterior parapods. They have a mentum with 4–5 pairs of lateral teeth, at most 1 anal seta, and posterior parapods longer than anal tubules.

A more complete diagnosis and description will be given by Ferrington and Saether (in manuscript). The genus can be divided in a basal paraphyletic fortispinatus group and a monophyletic collection of four groups of which the longicrus group includes all the Neotropical species except for A. fortispinatus . A subgroup, the bilobulatus group contains all species with a pars ventralis.