Polypedilum (Tripodura) conghuaense Zhang, Song, Qi and Wang, 2016

Mukherjee, Tuhar, Mukherjee, Bindarika & Hazra, Niladri, 2020, Revision of the Oriental species of Polypedilum Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae) with their phylogenetic relationship, Zootaxa 4820 (1), pp. 31-69 : 41-42

Polypedilum (Tripodura) conghuaense Zhang, Song, Qi and Wang, 2016

Polypedilum (Tripodura) conghuaense Zhang, Song, Qi and Wang, 2016: 13 .

Materials examined: Holotype male labelled ‘ZRL01096 CHINA, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, Cong-hua District, River Liuxi , 26.x.2014, light trap, Chao Song’ ; 1 male with pupal exuvia [reared], labelled ‘India, West Bengal , Bankura, Susunia Hills (23.67, 87.02), 28.iv.2018, Coll. D. Mondal’; 5 males labelled ‘ India, Jharkhand, Dumka, Massanjore, (24.10, 87.29), 12.vii.2003, Coll. S. Nath’.

Pupa (n=1)

Total length of pupal exuviae 2.00. Antennal sheath 2.50 long. Wing sheath 5.00 long.

Pupal exuviae pale yellow, hookrow and caudolateral spine dark brown.

Cephalothorax ( Figure 6B ). Frontal warts absent; cephalic tubercle cone shaped, 0.08 long, 0.06 broad at base, frontal setae absent. Basal ring ( Figure 6C ) elliptical, 39 long and 21–24, 22 wide.

Abdomen ( Figure 6D ). T I bare. T II with uniform shagreen distribution and posterolateral, pedes spurii B. T III moderately dense spinules anteriorly and dense row of spinules posteriorly. T IV–V with patches of spinules at middle. Hookrow with ca. 47 hooklets arranged in a single row covering nearly 85.7% of segment width. T VI with 3 bands of anterior, middle and posterior spinules; T VIII bare; T V–VI with 3 L-setae; T VII–VIII with 4 LS setae; LS setae on T V–VI arranged in a similar pattern: 2 anterior LS in a group and 1 posterolateral LS seta; 3 LS setae at 160, 580 and 833 of T V; 3 at 250, 430 and 630 of T VI; 4 at 130, 330, 600 and 730 of T VII; 4 at 80, 540, 750, and 940 of T VIII. Sternite IV with posterolateral pedes spurii A.

Anal lobe ( Figure 6E ). 150 long, 100 wide with 31 taeniae on each side. Caudolateral spur ( Figure 6F ) with 3 smaller teeth of 11, 6, and 6 in length on T VIII with a strong spine of 46 long and 13.6 wide.

Remarks. The lengths of antenna, wing (0.6), gonocoxite (37) and gonostylus of the Indian specimens of the species are shorter compared to the described Chinese counterparts. The number of squamal setae is greater in the Indian specimens (7–9). The anal point illustration of the species by Zhang et al. (2016) is much longer than those in the holotype specimens. Upon examining the slides we found that the anal point is shorter and more blunt ( Figure 6A ).

Ecology. The species herein is recorded in the Oriental China and eastern India. The pupa was collected from a spring in the Susunia Hills studded with vegetation of broad and deciduous leaves ( Reddy et al. 2015) and the soft water having a pH around 7.8 in Chhotanagpur Plateau region of West Bengal, India. The vegetation is broad-leaved and deciduous ( Reddy et al. 2015). The species has been found across the eastern fringes of Chhotanagpur Plateau. The pupa was also isolated from the rheobiontic zone of a fast flowing spring with decaying leaf of Shorea robusta Gaertn submerged in water.

Figures

FIGURES 6A–F. Adult (A) and pupa (B–F) of male Polypedilum (Tripodura) conghuaense Zhang, Song, Qi and Wang, 2016. A, Hypopygium of adult male; B, Frontal apotome; C, Basal ring; D, T I–VII; E, T VIII and anal lobe; F, Caudolateral spur. All to scale: 0.01 mm.