Alaskacladius Namayandeh & Hudson & Ghaderi & Vasquez & Ram 2023, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Namayandeh, Armin
name: Hudson, Patrick L.
name: Ghaderi, Edris
name: Vasquez, Adrian A.
name: Ram, Jeffrey L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chironomidae
Alaskacladius

description: Genus Alaskacladius gen. nov.
Figs. 1–3
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: E9C0F7BE-C2AF-4555-9DDC-875CB5566B97
Type species. Alaskacladius johnhudsoni sp. nov., by present designation.
Diagnostic characters. The new genus can be separated from other Orthocladiinae by a combination of the following characteristics: Imago medium size species; antennal last flagellomere with a stiff, straight apical seta; acrostichals present starting close to antepronotum and extending to mid-section of the scutum; humeral pit absent; wing bare; squama of the wing with setae; R 4+5 setae starting on apical 2/3 rd in male; femur, tibia, and tarsus of all legs with long and strong beard; pseudospurs absent; male hypopygium with prominent anal point, cone-shaped, broad basally, bearing simple moderately thick setae; virga a cluster of four extremely thin and compacted long spines placed vertically close to the sternapodeme, two hyaline lamellae adjacent to virga; inferior volsella trapezoidal, located halfway along the gonocoxite; gonostylus prominent, expanded from basal 1/3 rd to the apex, outer corner (projection) well-developed; female genitalia with gonocoxite well-reduced, not extending beyond the anterior of segment IX; Gonapophysis VIII with large ventrolateral lobe well separated basally and apically from dorsomesal lobe and with distinct apodeme lobe between them; tergite IX not divided, large, and crescent-shaped.
Description.
Imago.
Medium size species with wings 4 × as long as wide.
Head (Figs. 1A, 2A). Male antenna with 13 flagellomeres and a stiff, straight apical seta. Eyes bare, male with very short dorsomedial extension, female no extension, temporal setae present with postoculars, uniserial orbitals, and outer verticals. Female tentorium narrower than male. Clypeus nearly square in male, in female wider than long. Palp 5 segmented, the apex of the third segment with few medial, lateral, and ventral sensilla clavata.
Thorax (Figs. 1B, 2B). Decumbent acrostichals present; dorsocentrals uni to biserial; prealars present in a semicircular pattern in male, in female less so; scutellars present in two rows. Antepronotal lobes bearing setae basally. Humeral pit absent.
Wing (Figs. 1C, 2C). Wing bare with fine punctation. Squama setose with around 19 setae in male and around 6 in female. R, R 1 and R 4+5 setose; other veins bare. Costa with short extension. Cu 1 moderately curved. Anal lobe rounded in male, reduced in female.
Legs. Femur, tibia and tarsus of all legs with long and strong beard. Pulvilli well-developed. Spurs present on fore, mid and hind tibias; hind tibia comb well-developed. Pseudospurs absent.
Hypopygium (Fig. 1D). Anal point prominent, cone-shaped, broad basally, bearing simple, moderately thick setae. Virga with extremely thin and compacted long spines placed vertically close to sternapodeme. Hyaline lamellae with striation adjacent to virga. Sternapodeme slightly arched, oral projections developed. Inferior volsella trapezoidal. Gonostylus prominent, long, expanded from basal 1/3 rd to the apex, outer corner (projection) well-developed, megaseta present.
Female genitalia (Fig. 2D–E). Gonocoxite well-reduced, not extending beyond the anterior of segment IX, bearing moderately long setae. Seminal capsules semi-circular, longer than wide. Spermathecal ducts with loop. Gonapophysis VIII with large ventrolateral lobe well separated basally and apically from dorsomesal lobe; apodeme lobe distinct between these lobes. Tergite IX undivided, large, and crescent-shaped, bearing numerous setae (Fig. 2E). Cercus semicircular, about the same size as seminal capsule.
Etymology. The new genus is named after its type locality, the state of Alaska in the USA. The suffix “ cladius ” is Greek for the clade or branch.
description: Published as part of Namayandeh, Armin, Hudson, Patrick L., Ghaderi, Edris, Vasquez, Adrian A. & Ram, Jeffrey L., 2023, Alaskacladius gen. nov., (Diptera: Chironomidae), a unique new orthoclad from Alaska, pp. 571-581 in Zootaxa 5325 (4) on page 573, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5325.4.7, http://zenodo.org/record/8243761