Lívia Maria Fusari

Sponge-dwelling chironomids in the upper Paraná river (Brazil): little known but potentially threatened species

In this paper, we provide a checklist of chironomids living in freshwater sponges in the upper Paraná River (Brazil) and we call attention to the problem of complete substitution of extensive areas covered by freshwater sponges by banks of the invasive alien species Limnoperna fortunei (golden mussel). We describe a new species of Oukuriella based on male adults and also describe an unusual larva of Chironomidae that probably belongs to the Stenochironomus complex.

Systematics of Oukuriella Epler, 1986, including a revision of the species associated with freshwater sponges

Oukuriella has been recorded only in the Neotropical region. Larvae of some species of the genus have associations with freshwater sponges and immersed wood. In this study we performed a phylogenetic analysis to test the hypothesis that species that inhabit freshwater sponges form a monophyletic group. Including the six species described here, the number of species in the genus now is 21. Our findings do not support the subgroups previously proposed within Oukuriella based on the morphology of adult males. The most parsimonious cladograms obtained indicate that Oukuriella is a monophyletic group and the inhabitants of freshwater sponges form a monophyletic group within Oukuriella.

New species and records of Oukuriella Epler, 1986 from the Neotropical region (Diptera: Chironomidae).

Two new species of Oukuriella, O. angelomachadoi sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in MZUSP: BRAZIL, Paraná State) and O. plumaterata sp. nov. (Holotype male deposited in MZUSP: BRAZIL, São Paulo State), and the immatures stages of O. sublettei are described and figured. The larvae of O. sublettei were collected from submerged woods in low-order streams in the Atlantic Forest. In addition new records of several described species, including the first records of Oukuriella from Mexico and Bolivia are given.

Three new species of Polypedilum Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Neotropical region

Three new species of Polypedilum from Brazil, belonging to subgenera Tripodura and Pentapedilum are described and illustrated. P. (Pe.) puri sp. n. and P. (Tr.) guato sp. n. are described based on male adults and P. (Tr.) kadiweu sp. n. on male adult, pupa and larva.

An Asiatic Chironomid in Brazil: morphology, DNA barcode and bionomics

Abstract In most freshwater ecosystems, aquatic insects are dominant in terms of diversity; however, there is a disproportionately low number of records of alien species when compared to other freshwater organisms. The Chironomidae is one aquatic insect family that includes some examples of alien species around the world. During a study on aquatic insects in Amazonas state (Brazil), we collected specimens of Chironomidae that are similar, at the morphological level, to Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga and Chironomus striatipennis Kieffer, both with distributions restricted to Asia. The objectives of this study were to provide morphological information on this Chironomus population, to investigate its identity using DNA barcoding and, to provide bionomic information about this species. Chironomus DNA barcode data were obtained from GenBank and Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and, together with our data, were analyzed using the neighbor-joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates and the genetic distances were estimated using the Kimura-2-parameter. At the morphological level, the Brazilian population cannot be distinguished either from Chironomus striatipennis or Chironomus kiiensis, configuring a species complex but, at the molecular level our studied population is placed in a clade together with Chironomus striatipennis, from South Korea. Bionomic characteristics of the Brazilian Chironomus population differ from the ones of Chironomus kiiensis from Japan, the only species in this species complex with bionomic information available. The Brazilian Chironomus population has a smaller size, the double of the number of eggs and inhabits oligotrophic water, in artificial container. In the molecular analysis, populations of Chironomus striatipennis and Chironomus kiiensis are placed in a clade, formed by two groups: Group A (which includes populations from both named species, from different Asiatic regions and our Brazilian population) and Group B (with populations of Chironomus kiiensis from Japan and South Korea). Genetic distance between the Brazilian population and specimens in Group A suggests that it was recently introduced in Brazil, and that its country of origin is probably South Korea.

A new species of Forcipomyia (Microhelea) Meigen (Insecta: Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Neotropical region

We describe and illustrate a new species of biting midge belonging to the subgenus Forcipomyia (Microhelea), from the Estação Biológica de Boracéia, São Paulo State, Brazil. We include illustrations of the mouthparts, head, thorax, legs, abdominal setae, and habitus. The new species is similar to the few other recorded Neotropical species of biting midges, such as Forcipomyia (Microhelea) alleni, Forcipomyia (Microhelea) castneri, Forcipomyia (Microhelea) grandcolasi, and Forcipomyia (Microhelea) tettigonaris. However, it can be distinguished by the combination of external characters, such as the number of plates on the maxilla, the number of denticles on the mandible, the size of the labellum, and the morphology of the palpus. The two female specimens examined were found biting on a female stick bug, Paraphasma paulense (Phasmida: Pseudophasmatidae), which was attracted to a light trap.

A new species of sponge-dwelling Oukuriella (Chironomidae) from Brazil

Oukuriella Epler, 1986 is an exclusively Neotropical genus that comprises two well supported clades: inhabitants of freshwater sponges and inhabitants of immersed wood (saproxylophilic). In this work, males of a new chironomid species, Oukuriella froehlichi sp. n., are described and illustrated. Specimens were collected near stream in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Phylogenetic analyses performed in this study show that the newly discovered species belongs in the clade of freshwater sponge inhabitants.

A new species of Stempellina Thienemann & Bause from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (Diptera, Chironomidae)

A new species of Stempellina Thienemann & Bause from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (Diptera, Chironomidae). The male imago of Stempellina sofiae sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on material collected in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, during the expeditions of the project SISBIOTA Brazil. One of the core focuses of this project is identifying and describing new species of Diptera from central Brazil. The new species herein presented can be easily segregated by their congeneric by the rounded shape of the superior volsella.