Paggipelopia, Siri & Donato, 2015

Siri, Augusto & Donato, Mariano, 2015, Phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Macropelopiini (Chironomidae: Tanypodinae): adjusting homoplasies, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174 (1), pp. 74-92 : 84-86

PAGGIPELOPIA GEN. NOV.

Type species

Paggipelopia spaccesii gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology

Paggi refers to Dr Analía Constancia Paggi, in recognition of her contributions to our knowledge of the systematics and ecology of the Argentine chironomids; pelopia is derived from the suppressed Meigen, 1800 genus name Pelopia, being a frequently used suffix within the Tanypodinae .

Diagnosis

The new genus can be separated from the remaining genera of Macropelopiini by a combination of the following character states.

Male: Scutal tubercle absent; antepronotal tubercle present, RM and FCu dark; foreleg with tibial comb; legs with pointed claws, inferior volsella present.

Female: Elongated terminal flagellomere (as long as flagellomeres 9–13); seminal capsule globose with symmetrical neck position; coxosternapodeme with a bend.

Pupa: Dc 1 thin, Dc 2 long and granulated, longer than Dc 1; shagreen with short serially arranged spines; anal lobe long, more or less symmetrical, with the apical spine close to the middle, and outer and inner fringe present, both decreasing towards the anal point.

Larva: Dorsomentum with three bigger central teeth, plus one basal and two distal and shorter teeth; A 2 with the style arising subapically; prominent membranous area at the junction of A 2 and A 3; procercus relatively broad, 2.67–3.03 L/W. Cephalic setation: S 10 posterior to S 9; SSm slightly posterior and mesial to S 10, and VP posterolateral to S 10, more or less in same line with S 9 and S 10.

Remarks: Distinctive in the adult male of Paggipelopia gen. nov. is the presence of the foretibial comb, a feature among the Macropelopiini that is shared with Alotanypus and Macropelopia . Paggipelopia gen. nov. is distinguished in the male adult from these genera by the following characters: from Macropelopia , by the absence of a scutal tubercle and from Alotanypus by the absence of spatulate claws.

The female of Paggipelopia gen. nov. has a long terminal flagellomere and seminal capsules rounded, with the neck placed symmetrically. The coxosternapodeme has a clear bend, a character also observed at least in Alotanypus aris , Alotanypus venustus , and Alotanypus kuroberobustus (Sasa & Okazawa, 1992) .

In the pupal identification key of Fittkau & Murray (1986), Paggipelopia gen. nov. keys to Brundiniella . Paggipelopia gen. nov. differs, however, from this genus because Brundiniella has an oval plastron plate, a thin Dc 2, which is shorter than Dc 1, and five lateral taeniate setae on segments VI and VII. The pupa of Paggipelopia gen. nov. resembles the notata group of Macropelopia in the five taeniate setae on segment VI, but Macropelopia lacks the inner fringe of the anal lobe. The symmetrical anal lobe clearly distinguishes Paggipelopia gen. nov. from Wuelkerella , Apsectrotanypus , and Alotanypus . In addition, the serially arranged shagreen, the presence of rods, and the horn sac that fills the entire lumen distinguish Paggipelopia gen. nov. from Alotanypus .

The larva of Paggipelopia gen. nov. keys to Apsectrotanypus in Cranston & Epler (2013), sharing a few big dorsomental teeth and antennal segment 2 with a subapical style. The presence of a strong S 9 and a branched S 10 cephalic seta in Paggipelopia gen. nov., however, distinguishes this genus from Apsectrotanypus . This setal arrangement in Paggipelopia gen. nov. is shared among Macropelopiini only with Alotanypus aris .

Generic description

Adult male

Antenna: Pedicel, flagellomeres, and plume brown.

Head: Temporal bi- to multiserial, postorbitals biserial.

Thorax: Dark brown, vittae not distinct. Antepronotum with antepronotal lobe and a ventral group of setae. Preepisternals and postnotals always present, anepisternals rarely present. Scutal tubercle absent.

Wing: C extended beyond R 4+5. RM and FCu darkened, membrane with dark spots.

Legs: Light to dark brown, with apex of femur, base and apex of tibia, and apex of tarsomere 1 darker. Tibial spurs with short lateral teeth; surface of tibial spurs with fine spinules. Tibial comb present on fore- and hindlegs. Claws slender, distally pointed in all legs. Pulvilli small to absent.

Hypopygium: Tergite IX with posterior setae distributed in irregular rows. Anal point more or less conical. Gonocoxite with inferior volsella well developed. Gonostylus broad basally, with or without a narrowed apex.

Adult female

Antenna: Antenna with 14 flagellomeres; terminal flagellomere long.

Head: Temporals bi- to multiserial, postorbitals biserial.

Thorax: Coloration as in male. Antepronotum with antepronotal lobe and a group of ventral setae. Preepisternals and postnotals always present, anepisternals absent. Scutal tubercle absent.

Wing: As in male.

Legs: Coloration and tibial spurs as in male. Tibial comb present only on hindlegs. Claws slender, distally pointed in all legs. Pulvilli small to absent.

Genitalia: Gonapophysis VIII rounded; coxosternapodeme with a bend; segment X setose; cercus oval; postgenital plate reduced or absent; seminal capsules ovoid with neck placed symmetrically.

Pupa

Cephalothorax: Thoracic horn large, horn sac filling almost the entire lumen, with internal supporting rods. Plastron plate well developed, about 0.20 of the total length of the thoracic horn. External surface of the thoracic horn with spines. Dc 1 thin, Dc 2 strong and highly granulated; Sa long, not granulated. Length of dorsocentral setae: Dc 1 <Dc 2 <Sa.

Abdomen: Scar on tergite I well developed. Shagreen with serially arranged spines. Dorsal setae: D 1 spiniform; D 2 and D 3 long, commonly hooked; D 4 short and thin, D 5 almost half as long as D 1. Segments VII – VIII with five taeniate lateral setae.

Anal lobe symmetrical, with the anal point close to the middle of each lobe; outer and inner border fringed, both decreasing to the apex and ending in small spines. Male genital sac almost half as long as the anal lobe.

Larva

Medium to large larvae, up to 6 mm long.

Head: Rounded–oval. Dorsally S 7, S 8, and dorsal pore (DP) forming a right angle; S 6 anterolateral to S 7. Ventrally S 9 and S 10 vertically aligned; SSm slightly posterior and mesial to S 10; ventral pore (VP) posterior and lateral to S 10. Description of cephalic setae: S 5, S 6, S 7, and SSm multibranched; S 10 branched into two or three; S 8 and S 9 simple.

Antenna: Somewhat longer than mandible. Antennal ratio about 6.2–7.0. Basal segment with ring organ in the apical third; segment 2 about 3.0–5.0 times as long as wide. Style inserted subapically to segment 2; membranous area at the junction of A 2 and A 3 present.

Mandible: Mola with one short distal tooth; seta subdentalis slender.

Maxilla: Ring organ of the maxillary palp medially placed.

Mentum and M appendage: Dorsomentum with three large and rounded central teeth, plus one short basal and two short distal teeth. Pseudoradula of uniform width, weakly granulose.

Ligula: With five teeth, points of the inner lateral teeth distinctly curved outward.

Paraligula: Unevenly bifid.

Body: With fringe of swim setae. With four rather long, conical anal tubules. Procercus with 13 apical setae. Claws of posterior parapods simple; smallest claws simple, weakly curved.