Folia faunistica Slovaca (2009) 14 (17): 113-114

TAXONS

 

Contribution to the Chironomid fauna of Slovakia

Peter Bitušík

Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Matthias Belius University, Tajovský street 40, SK – 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia; [peter@blatna.cuni.cz]

Received: 16.11.2009; Accepted: 18.11.2009; Published: 15.12.2009

Abstract

Five chironomid species were firstly recorded in Slovakia, two of which are new to the Central European fauna. All species were collected as pupal exuviae during investigation of flowing and stagnant waters. Site details as well as notes on distribution and ecology are presented.

Key words

Chironomidae, Diptera, pupal exuviae, first records, Slovakia.

Introduction

To continue with the inventory of chironomids of Slovakia, a number of surveys of water biotopes were made using chironomid pupal exuviae technique – CPET (Wilson & Ruse 2005). During these surveys, five species were recorded from Slovakia for the first time. An additional, two of them are reported from Central Europe firstly. Material was sampled from the water surface along the river and lake banks with a 200 μm mesh net attached to a 1.5 m long pole. Exuviae were mounted in Berlese fluid on slides and identifications were based on the keys of Langton (1991) and Langton & Visser (2003). The number of chironomid species known from Slovakia increases to 383 species after inclusion of the species mentioned below.

Notes on species
Chaetocladius dissipatus (Edwards, 1929)

Slovakia centr.: Poľana Mts, Hučava, sub-mountain brook below Očová village, 345 m a. s. l. (N 48°35´29´´, E 19°14´49´´, grid number of DFS 7381b), March 1996, 3 pupal exuviae, P. Bitušík leg., det. et coll.

A Palaearctic species. Larvae are probably rheophilic, in Europe are known from mountain streams and lakes (Langton & Visser 2003).

Chaetocladius suecicus (Kieffer, 1916)

Slovakia centr.: Poľana Mts, Hučava, sub-mountain brook (metarhitral), below Bátovský balvan in Hrochoťská dolina valley, 610–630 m a. s. l. (N 48°39´32´´, E 19°22´36´´, grid number of DFS 7382a), March 1996, 8 pupal exuviae, April 1996, 11 pupal exuviae; Hučava, sub-mountain brook above Očová village, 440 m a. s. l. (N 48°36´49´´, E 19°18´47´´, grid number of DFS 7381d), March 1996, 5 pupal exuviae, P. Bitušík leg., det. et coll.

A European species. The larvae of suecicus group were found to be dominant chironomids at the investigated section of Hučava brook (Bitušík, unpublished data).

Orthocladius (Euorthocladius) calvus Pinder, 1985

Slovakia centr.: Kremnické vrchy Mts, Kopernica, sub-mountain brook (metarhithral) above Kopernica village, 560 m a. s. l. (N 48°41´51.51´´, E 18°52´14.84´´, grid number of DFS 7278d), 7.5.2005; 1 pupal exuvium, P. Bitušík leg., det. et coll.

A European species, only known from a small number of West European countries (Sæther & Spies 2007). It is characteristic of newly created lotic habitats. In permanent streams in Europe it was collected usually as single specimens (Langton & Casas 1999). In Central Europe it was not previously recorded.

Orthocladius dentifer Brundin, 1947

Slovakia centr.: Nízke Tatry Mts, Vrbické pleso, mountain lake, 1113 m a. s. l. (N 48°58´14.94´´; E 19°34´41.24´´, grid number of DFS 7083b), 7.8.2009, 1 pupal exuvium, P. Bitušík leg., det. et coll.

A Holarctic species, known from some West and North Europe (Sæther & Spies 2007). Larvae in cold flowing and stagnant waters (Langton & Visser 2003). First record from Central Europe.

Tanytarsus debilis (Meigen, 1830)

Slovakia centr.: Štiavnické vrchy Mts, Počúvadlo, man-made reservoir, 677 m a. s. l. (N 48°24´22´´, E 18°51´13´´, grid number of DFS 7678b), 4.7.2005, 2 pupal exuviae, J. Bačík leg., P. Bitušík det. et coll.

A Holarctic species widely distributed in Europe. Preimaginal stages generally in lakes and reservoirs (Langton & Visser 2003).

Acknowledgement

I thank J. Bačík for the pupal exuviae samples from Počúvadlo reservoir. The chironomid study of mountain lake Vrbické pleso was supported by the grant No. 1/4334/07 of the Scientific Grant Agency VEGA.

References

Langton PH, 1991: A key to pupal exuviae of West Palaearctic Chironomidae. Privately published by PH Langton, 3 St. Felix Road, Ramsay Forty Foot, Cambridgeshire, England, PE 17 1YH, 386 pp.

Langton PH & Casas J, 1999: Changes in chironomid assemblage composition in two Mediterranean mountain streams over a period of extreme hydrological conditions. Hydrobiologia, 390: 37–49.

Langton PH & Visser H, 2003: Chironomidae exuviae. A key to pupal exuviae of the West Palaearctic Region. Interactive Identification System for the Europaean Limnofauna (IISEL), World Biodiversity Database, CD-ROM Series.

Sæther OA & Spies M, 2007: Fauna Europaea: Chironomidae. In: Jong H de (ed.): Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Nematocera. Fauna Europaea version 1.3, http://www.faunaeur.org.

Wilson RS & Ruse LP, 2005: A guide to the identification of genera of chironomid pupal exuviae and their use in monitoring lotic and lentic fresh waters. Freshwater Biol. Assoc., 164 pp.