Paracricotopus togakuroasi
Creators: name: Namayandeh, Armin
name: Ghaderi, Edris
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Chironomidae
Paracricotopus
Paracricotopus togakuroasi

description: Paracricotopus togakuroasi (Sasa & Okazawa, 1992)
Description. The adult male as described by Sasa & Okazawa (1992) with the following additions:
Abdominal tergite setation (Fig. 7I). Tergite I with 2 lateral setae, anterior basal setae, and posterior marginal setae arranged in 3 diagonal rows in 2/1/2 format. Tergites II with 3 lateral setae, anterior basal setae, and posterior marginal setae in two continuous diagonal rows. Tergite III-VIII with 4 lateral setae, anterior basal setae, and posterior marginal setae in two continuous diagonal rows.
Distribution. Palearctic: Japan.
Remarks
The adult males of P. sturae sp. nov. and P. torbjorni sp. nov. are both similar to P. niger. A combination of shorter anal points, numbers, and patterns of the tergite setation separates adult males of both species from P. niger. P. torbjorni sp. nov. adult male has a much smaller anal point than P. sturae sp. nov. and P.niger, which can further separate it from the latter two species. The single P. torbjorni sp. nov. adult male we examined lacked lateral setae on its anal point, similar to P. mozleyi a nd P. insulatus. P. insulatus has a much longer anal point and costa extension compared to P. torbjorni sp. nov., and P. mozleyi has a gonostylus without crista dorsalis; whereas gonostylus of P. torbjorni sp. nov. has a prominent crista dorsalis. Table 7 provides additional characteristics that can separate adult males of Paracricotopus. A combination of longer notum, smaller seminal capsule, and pattern of tergites setae separates the female of P. sturae sp. nov. from that of P. niger. Table 8 provides additional characteristics that can separate known adult females of Paracricotopus.
The examined type specimens of P. sturae sp. nov. and P. torbjorni sp. nov. lacked antenna, and therefore, for now, we did not include them in the adult male key. However, they are included in the preliminary alternative key based on adult males’ tergite setation, further separating them from other known species of Paracricotopus. Historically, the generic diagnosis of Paracricotopus only mentioned the abdominal tergites and sternites in having distinct rows of anterior and posterior setae (Thieneman & Harnisch 1931; Cranston e t al. 1989). Some previous workers have provided the total number of setae on tergites (Caldwell 1985; Chaudhuri & Som 1998; Hazra et al. 2002; Nitsuma 1990; Saether 1980b). However, the pattern of these setae was never investigated. Based on the type and voucher specimens we have examined and the review of the literature, we found that each Paracricotopus species has a unique tergite setae pattern, which can be further used as a distinguishing characteristic for adults (Fig. 7). We designated the most lateral anterior basal and posterior marginal setae as lateral setae, which we found their numbers is a distinguishing characteristic. Further, we found that the anterior basal and posterior marginal setae of tergite I are diagonally parallel and have a unique pattern format that is species-specific. Also, the setation pattern of tergites I to V is much more distinguishing, and as such, we mainly emphasized these tergites. Based on these characteristics, we provided additional descriptions for most Paracricotopus species and an alternative key to the adult male of the genus. Since we only examined a few specimens from each species, in addition to what little was available in the literature, and could not examine the type specimens of Paracricotopus irregularis Nitsuma, 1990, Paracricotopus millrockensis Caldwell, 1985, Paracricotopus missilus Chaudhuri & Som, 1998, and Paracricotopus oyabeangulatus Sasa, Kwai & Ueno, 1988, our tergite setae key at best can be a preliminary one, until more type and voucher adult specimens from various locations are examined. Combining the two adult male keys to produce a more comprehensive key would have made sense. For now, two reasons prevented us from doing so. First, the alternative key signifies the importance of tergite setation as a distinguishing characteristic. Further, the absence of antenna and, therefore, its characteristics in P. sturae sp. nov. and P. torbjorni sp. nov., along with the absence of the species above, could not provide us with proper options of tergite setae character to separate the Paracricotopus species.
description: Published as part of Namayandeh, Armin & Ghaderi, Edris, 2025, A review of Paracricotopus (Brundin, 1947), with the description of two new species and redescription of the adult males of Paracricotopus niger (Kieffer, 1913) and Paracricotopus uliginosus (Brundin, 1947) sensu Saether (1980) (Chironomidae: Diptera), pp. 138-158 in Zootaxa 5569 (1) on pages 152-154, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5569.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/14703998