Abstract

DONATO, Mariano; MASSAFERRO, Julieta  and  BROOKS, Stephen J.. Current state of the taxonomic knowledge of the Chironomidae fauna (Diptera: Nematocera) from Patagonia. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2009, vol.68, n.1-2, pp.187-192. ISSN 0373-5680.

The Chironomidae (Diptera: Nematocera) family is one of the most widely distributed group of insects and often the most abundant in freshwater environments. Representatives of this family can exploit a wide range of environmental gradients. The information here presented is based on the compilation of distributional data obtained from bibliography, the study of the type material deposited in the Natural History Museum (UK) and the collection material from Museo de La Plata (Argentina). Nine subfamilies are recorded from Patagonia, being the monotypic subfamily Chilenomyiinae endemic for the area. From the 111 known genera from South America, 53 are present in the studied area. Aproximately 20 % of the genera recorded from Patagonia are endemic and 7 of them have transantarctic relationships. In Patagonia there are 177 species of Chironomidae, out of which 98% are endemic, 3 % are considered nomina dubia and ca. 17 % requires revision since their systematic position is doubtful. The original descriptions of the chironomid species from Patagonia are based mainly on males (n=58) and males and females (n=43) both amounting to 57 % of the total, the rest of the species have been described using different combinations of stages from their life cycle.

Keywords : Chironomidae; Diversity; Patagonia.

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