5. Chironomus 'thermarum' n. sp. Manuscript name by D. J. Forsyth.

Forsyth describes the abdominal tergites of the adult male as largely dark with only a narrow pale posterior margin.

Larval Morphology: halophilus-type, i.e. with some development of posterior tubules (length about 0.12mm).    Head capsule with frontoclypeus generally pale, gular darkened.    Smaller species (temperature effect?), length about 11.3 mm.    Mentum usually type II;    centre tooth relatively narrow, with C2 teeth only partly separated on its shoulders(i.e. type I).    Mentum width about half VHL.    Ventromentum with about 45 striae.    Pecten epipharyngis with about 11 - 14 irregular teeth.    Basal antennal segment about 3.3x as long as wide.Mandible of type II, with about 13 - 15 striae near base.    Ventromentum with about 45-55 striae.

Cytology: 4 polytene chromosomes, pseudothummi-complex arm combination (BF,CD,EA,G).
    Arm G normally closely paired with a large nucleolus; another large nucleolus on arm F.    Only one Balbiani ring, in the middle of arm G, was visible in the specimens examined.    Arm A with sequence A4 as found in Australian species; arm E with sequence E1 of Australian species, and arm C appears to have the same sequence as C1 of C. forsythi (ie. as C1 of the Australian species).    No polymorphism was seen in the available specimens.

thmA1:    1a-e, 11-10, 2c-1f, 3e-2d, 8-9, 3f-i, 12c-a, 4-7, 13-19                 ie. as A4 of oppositus
            (14A-14D8, 15E1, 15D-15C1, 14D9-15B, 15E2-10)
thmB1:    Puff (group 7) hardly developed, with proximal dark bands (group 8) near distal end.
thmC1:    10A - 11E;                                 ie. as C1 of forsythi and oppositus?
thmD1:
thmE1:    1 - 3e, 10b - 3f, 10c - 13                                  ie. as oppositus E1
            (12A - 13D)
thmF1:    appears to be 4A-5B1, 5D2-5B2, 5D3-6D
thmG1:

Click here to see the polytene chromosomes

Localities:

North Island:
    Kerosene Creek, South Auckland (thermal) (NZ.78.1) (S.Ibarraran) (27-viii-2007)
    Waiotapu Stream (thermal) (NZ.69.1) (D.J.Forsyth) 14-vi-1983

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Modified: 1 September 2008
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