13. C. sp. nr. antipodensis

Chironomus antipodensis was described by Sublette and Wirth(1980) from the Antipodes Islands.  There has been no record of it from New Zealand itself, but a single, incomplete, adult male was collected near Dunedin, which is much darker than other known New Zealand Chironomus specimens, and has a mtCO1 DNA sequence that differs from other available coxI sequences.  While it lacks a number of key identification characters, it seems to have relationship to C. antipodensis.

Adult:

Male:
A dark species, with dark setae that make those on the abdomen and the femurs much more obvious, i.e. it looks a quite 'hairy' species.
AR, LR unknown.
Wing length 5.12 mm, width 1.09 mm; VR - 1.04.  About 4 setae on stem vein, about 23 on anal fringe.
Head: Antennae missing, Frontal tubercles about 25 µm long and 13 µm wide, i.e. about twice as long as wide.  Palpal proportions (µm) 73 : 65 : 276 : 311 ; (missing).  27 clypeal setae.
Thoracic setae: Acrostichal - 11; Dorsolateral - 20-22 in up to 3 rows; prealar - 6; supraalar - 1; scutellar in three rows - 7, 7, and 12.

Leg proportions (micron):

 
Fe
Ti
Ta1
Ta2
Ta3
Ta4
Ta5
LR
F/T
PI
1680
1620
-
-
-
-
-
-
1.04
PII
1800
1690
1000
640
440
280
200
0.59
1.07
PIII
2080
2120
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.98

abt 15 sensilla chaetica on mid Ta1

Abdomen with dark band covering anterior two thirds of tergites; setae very obvious because of their dark colour.  About 3 setae centrally on 9th tergite, Superior volsella closest to Strenzke's (1959) E(i) type.  Setae of Inferior volsella appear simple, although not all are clear. Gonocoxite IX reduces for about the distal third.

Pupa:  Not known.

Larval Morphology:  Larvae collected at the same time as this adult were one of the forms of C. forsythi, so larva of this species is not known.

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Modified: 31 August 2020
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Copyright © 2020, Jon Martin.