Polypedilum (Polypedilum) ascium Chaudhuri, Guha and Dasgupta, 1981

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

Polypedilum (Polypedilum) ascium Chaudhuri, Guha and Dasgupta, 1981

Polypedilum (Polypedilum) ascium Chaudhuri, Guha and Dasgupta, 1981: 117 .

Materials examined. Paratypes: 2 males labelled ‘ Polypedilum (P.) ascium Chaudhuri, Guha & Das Gupta , Bhutan, Thimpu (27.47, 89.46), 23.x.1978, Coll. B.C. Nandi; 1 male labelled ‘ India, West Bengal, Bolpur (23.67, 87.61), 18.viii.1977, Coll. A. Chatterjee’; 1 male labelled ‘ India, West Bengal, Burdwan, Burdwan Town (23.23, 87.86), 03.iii.1979, Coll. S.K. Nandi’; 2 males labelled India, West Bengal, Alipurduar, Pukuria (26.49, 89.53), 11.vi.1984, Coll. T. Dutta; 1 male labelled ‘ India, Bankura, Susunia Hills (23.67, 87.02), Coll. T. Mukherjee, 26.v.2018.

Remarks. The species can be recognised by its characteristic axe shaped inferior volsella ( Figure 5A ). Upon examination of the paratype specimens we found that the species have an outer lateral seta ( Figure 5B ) at 0.5–0.62 from the apex which was overlooked by Chaudhuri et al. (1981).

Ecology. The species having a wide temperature tolerance (eurythermic) is recorded from Thimpu, Bhutan (27.47. 89.46), a part of Himalaya Biodiversity hotspot, where summer temperature is 21°C and Sususnia Hills of Bankura during the course of this study where mercury reaches beyond 40°C during the summer.

Figures

FIGURES 5A–B. Adult male of Polypedilum (Polypedilum) ascium Chaudhuri, Guha and Dasgupta, 1981. A, Hypopygium; B, Superior volsella. Both to scale: 0.01 mm.