Oriental Chironomus: C. nr. salinarius

C. salinarius (Kieffer 1921)?

This species may not be identical to the European and African species (see below)

From Sasa (1978):
Adult

Male: Wing length 4.5 mm, width 0.21 of length; VR 0.92.  AR 3.4
Color almost entirely brown, thoracic scutae hardly visible; legs uniformly dark brown, fore tarsus with long beard.  Cross vein of wing conspicuously pigmented.
Head: Frontal tubercles 50 x 19 (2.63) µm.  Palps (segs. 2-5) 90 : 250 : 250 : 320; P5/P4 & P5/P3 = 1.28.
Thoracic setae not listed.
Leg lengths (microns) and proportions as follows:

	Fe	Ti	Ta1	Ta2	Ta3	Ta4	Ta5	LR	F/T	BR
PI	1560	1590	2050	1170	920	760	340	1.3	0.98	4.6
PII	1760	1710	980	630	460	320	230	0.59	1.03	-
PIII	1950	2030	1510	900	680	410	250	0.74	0.96	-

Superior volsella beaked, of D-type, between d and e of Strenzke (1959). Setae of Inferior volsella simple.
About 19 setae on tergite IX.

From Sasa 1978

Female:
Wing length 5.4 mm, width 1.35 mm, VR 0.94; coloration as male.
Body coloration dark as in male.
Antennal proportions (micron) 60 : 150 : 110 : 110 : 210. AR 0.49, A5/A1 3.5.
Leg lengths (micron) and proportions:

	Fe	Ti	Ta1	Ta2	Ta3	Ta4	Ta5	LR	F/T	Ta4/Ti
PI	1660	1610	2200	1100	880	760	370	1.36-1.37	1.03	0.47
PII	1880	1830	1000	590	440	300	230	0.55	1.03	0.16
PIII	2030	2100	1460	800	660	390	270	0.70	0.97	0.19

Abdominal tergites almost entirely black, TI-II with inconspicuous apical pale bands.
Sasa (1978) compares the coloration to C. acerbiphilus, but notes that it can be distinguished because C. acerbiphilus is shining black.

Pupa: Only information is that the spurs of segment VIII have several (1-5) very short but pointed spurs (61, below).

From Sasa 1978

Fourth instar larva: a salinarius-type larva; anal tubules short, less than one-half of the length of the posterior pseudopods (62, above). Illustration (63, above) shows mentum as type II and center tooth as type IIA.
Antenna with basal segment about three times longer than wide, RO about a third up from base; AR about 2.14.
Ventromentum long and narrow, 4.5 times wider than deep, and 1.28 times the mentum width; VMR about 0.44.
Mandible type IA, MTR about 0.4; Pecten mandibularis about 12.

Cytology: Not described.

Found: Japan - Tokushima City; Okunosu, both Tokushima Pref., Shikoku; Lake Toufutsu, Abashiri, and Sorachi River, Kamikawa, Hokkaido; Nakamura, Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku; Noubu, Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu; Lake Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture, Otsu City (35.00°N, 135.88°E), Shiga Prefecture, Honshu.

Molecular Data
The mtCO1: Sequence for a specimen from Otsu City has about 98% homology to sequence for C. salinarius. This may indicate that the Japanese specimen is a closely related species to the European and African material.

[ Return to Index | Go to C. acerbiphilus ]