Labrundinia Fittkau, 1962

Silva, Fabio Laurindo Da, Fonseca-Gessner, Alaide Aparecida & Ekrem, Torbjørn, 2014, A taxonomic revision of genus Labrundinia Fittkau, 1962 (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae), Zootaxa 3769 (1), pp. 1-185 : 5-6

Labrundinia Fittkau, 1962

Ablabesmyia Johannsen, 1905 (part): 152.

Tanypus Meigen, 1830 : Malloch 1915 (part): 372; Walley 1928 (part): 583. Pentaneura Philippi, 1865 : Edwards 1929 (Group F, part): 294; Johannsen 1946 (Group E, part): 283. Labrundinia Fittkau, 1962: 372 ; Beck and Beck 1966: 337; Roback 1971: 275. Type species: Tanypus longipalpis Goetghebuer, 1921

Diagnosis. Adult male. Small to moderate size, 1.6–3.2 mm, wing length 1.1–2.2 mm. Head with eyes bare, antenna with terminal flagellomere not offset, almost fused to the preapical flagellomere. Thorax with 26–56 acrostichals, 8–44 dorsocentrals, 5–17 prealars and 5–14 scutellars; anepisternals, preepisternals and postnotals absent. Wing usually without dense macrotrichia, except for L. fosteri and L. hirsuta . Costa short, not produced beyond R4+5, ending at level or slightly beyond tip of M3+4; R2+3 present or absent. Fore leg usually without tibial comb, but occasionally present ( L. nicaraguensis ); apices of fore and mid tibiae with pectinate spur, with 3–5 lateral teeth; apex of hind tibia without spur, with comb of 5–8 bristles; claws slender, hook-shaped; pulvilli absent. Hypopygium with tergite IX large, convex posteriorly and with apical row of setae; membranous anal point small, usually covered by tergite IX; inferior volsella absent; phallapodeme straight; sternapodeme usually with anterior process.

Adult female. Small to moderate size, 0.9–2.6 mm, wing length 0.8–1.5 mm. Thorax with 30–60 acrostichals, 20–44 dorsocentrals, 7–17 prealars and 8–12 scutellars. Wing usually without dense macrotrichia. Costa short, not produced beyond R4+5. R2+3 present or absent. Fore leg ratio 0.53–0.86. Genitalia with broadly rounded gonapophysis VIII. Gonotergite IX with posteromedial setae. Seminal capsules brown, oval with hyaline conical necks. Coxosternapodeme nearly straight. Labia with inconspicuous microtrichia. Postgenital plate rounded. Cerci quadrate to oval.

Pupa. Small to moderate size, 1.5–2.7 mm long. Cephalothorax with thoracic horn slender to globose; plastron plate small to moderately reduced; horn sac occupies most of lumen; reticulation of respiratory atrium indistinct; external membrane with pale spines; basal lobe wedge-shaped; thoracic comb with 8–13 conical tubercles. Abdominal segment (A I) with scar dorsally, but not strongly pigmented; shagreen sparse, more conspicuous on A VII–VIII, basally concentrated; A II may have prominent spines ventrally, sometimes with dense multi-branched spines; A VII with 2–4 LS-setae (LS); tergite VIII with projections over base of anal lobe; anal lobe long and narrow, with inner border membranous, slightly concave; macrosetae with adhesive sheaths; male genital sac almost reaching apex of anal lobe or extending beyond apex of anal lobe.

Larva: Small to moderate size, head capsule 398–781 Μm long. Head evenly coloured, sometimes with ventral maculation; surface may be smooth or covered with spinules, lateroventral and posteroventral spine groups present or absent. Antennal ratio (AR) 1.76–3.22. Mandible strongly curved with distinct or short, subequal teeth. Ligula with 5 teeth, middle tooth usually longer than outer teeth. Paraligula bifid or multi-toothed, with 4 teeth. Posterior parapod with numerous simple claws and a bifid claw with outer tooth shorter than inner tooth; subbasal seta simple or serrated with 3–13 teeth at the base; serrated claw present or absent.

Remarks. The reduction of wing vein R2+3 is a character shared by species in the genera Labrundinia , Monopelopia Fittkau , Nilotanypus Kieffer and Schineriella Murray et Fittkau. However , the presence of one tibial spur on all legs in Monopelopia and Nilotanypus , and two tibial spurs on the mid and hind legs in Schineriella allows separation of these genera from Labrundinia whose the adults completely lack tibial spurs on the hind leg. Additionally, the apical male antennal flagellomere is fused to the preapical flagellomere in Labrundinia while male adults of Schineriella and Monopelopia have truncate terminal flagellomere. The pupae of Labrundinia superficially resemble those of Nilotanypus , in particular with regard to size. However, the pupae of Labrundinia may be readily recognized based on the shape of the thoracic horn with reduced plastron plate and a discrete corona. The larvae of Labrundinia share features with those of Nilotanypus , such as the overall body size, shape of ligula and the large basal and accessory teeth of the mandible. However, the position of the ring organ, which is close to the distal end of antennal segment one and the presence of one bifid claw on the posterior parapod, with outer tooth shorter than inner tooth are diagnostic for Labrundinia .