Tanypodinae Skuse 1889
Creators: name: Cranston, Peter S.
name: Tang, Hongqu
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chironomidae

description: Tanypodinae: tribes and genera
This subfamily is the third most diverse, distributed widely excepting Antarctica, occupying many different microhabitats in major aquatic habitats, including phytotelmata and the hygropetric zone. Larvae are free-living and none make larval nests or pupal cases, pupa can directly utilize atmospheric oxygen through a specialized plastron plate at air-water interface. Typically, they are described as micro-predators, but some, notably in tribes Macropelopiini, Procladiini, and Tanypodini, perhaps many, feed on diatoms and detritus at least in early instars. The monophyly of the subfamily is well supported (Cranston et al. 2011; Silva & Ekrem 2016; Krosch et al. 2022), perhaps originating from the tropical region, with expectation of higher diversity in s.e. Asia. Seven of the 9 validated tribes of Tanypodinae occur in the region, lacking the Palaearctic Anatopyniini (for Anatopynia Johannsen) and the Australian Coelopyniini (for Coelopynia Freeman). Mature (4 th instar) larvae can be identified but earlier instars rarely can. Delimitation of genera in the ‘ Thienemannimyia group’ may be aided by a developing thoracic horn in the mature fourth instar larvae. Cephalic setation, both dorsal and central, is valuable in generic identification in this subfamily.
1 Head elongate (Fig. 2A). Dorsomentum indistinct, teeth essentially absent (Fig. 2B). Body lacks complete fringe......... 2
1’ Head round to oval (Fig. 3A). Dorsomental teeth on transverse plate or in longitudinal rows. Body with dense lateral setal fringe (Fig. 3B)........................................................................................... 3
2(1) Body lacking organised lateral setal fringe on body................................................ Pentaneurini
2’ Body segments 4–10 with 4 larger setae located anterior-laterally (Fig. 3C)................................ Natarsiini [Natarsia Fittkau; N. punctata (Meigen) common, oriental China (Guangdong); 2 spp. as ♂♂ (Cheng & Wang 2006); Nearctic (inc. Mexico), Palaearctic, inc. Japan]
3(1) Dorsomental with teeth longitudinally aligned, not on distinct plate (Fig.3D). Ligula with 6–7 teeth (Fig. 3E).................................................................................................... Coelotanypodini [sole regional genus Clinotanypus Kieffer; Indonesia (Sulawesi), Thailand, abundant, diverse esp. drying rivers. 5 spp oriental China (Cheng & Wang 2008), Holarctic, Neotropics, Australia]
3’ Dorsomental teeth at margin of distinct plate (Fig. 3H). Ligula with 4 or 5 teeth (Fig. 3G)........................... 4
4(3) Mandible with enlarged base and short apical tooth (Fig. 3F). Lacking pseudoradula and pecten hypopharyngis.. Tanypodini [sole regional genus Tanypus Meigen is lentic, eurytolerant. Several spp. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand; T. punctipennis Meigen, T. chinensis Wang, T. formosanus (Kieffer), oriental China; Holarctic, Neotropical, Australia]
4’ Mandible with slender base and long apical tooth (Fig. 3I, J, L). Pseudoradula (Fig. 3K) and pecten hypopharyngis present.. ................................................................................................... 5
5(4) Dorsomentum with continuous toothed plate, concave-arched weakly subdivided into median and lateral sections (Fig. 3H). Mandible with several rows of additional small surface teeth (Fig. 3I)..................................Fittkauimyiini [sole regional genus Fittkauimyia Karunakaran, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia (Sulawesi), China; all regional records may refer to acidophilic and pollution tolerant F. disparipes Karunakaran. Holarctic, Afrotropical, Neotropical, Australia]
5’ Dorsomentum discontinuous plate, toothed in median and lateral sections (Fig. 3J, K). Mandible lacks extra teeth......... 6
6(5) Mandible with weak basal tooth. Ligula with 5 dark or light teeth, paraligula bifid (rarely trifid) (Fig. 3M)... Macropelopiini
6’ Mandible with large basal tooth (Fig. 3L). Ligula with 4–5 dark teeth; paraligula pectinate (Fig. 3N)........... Procladiini
description: Published as part of Cranston, Peter S. & Tang, Hongqu, 2024, An identification guide to the genera of aquatic larval Chironomidae (Diptera) of south-east Asia, pp. 151-193 in Zootaxa 5497 (2) on pages 154-157, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5497.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13618241