The Photographic Checklist of the Freshwater Chironomids of the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

A photographic checklist of the Chirominids under the subfamily Chironominanea from the Niger Delta of Nigeria was compiled using records of specimens collected over a period of thirty years from many field trips. The photographic keys were described to show the cephalothorax with mentum, mandibles, premandibles and ventromental plates. A total of twelve illustrations, consisting of nine genera and twelve species, were documented. These were Chironomus imicola, Chironomus transvaalensis, Endochironomus sp., Parachironomus biannulatus,  Parachironominae sp., Limnochironomus sp., Pseudochironomus prasinatus, Tanytarsus curticornis and Tanytarsus thienemanni, Paratanytarsus sp., Microtendipes sp., Pentapedilum sp. Six of these species namely Microtendipes sp., Parachironomus biannulatus, Pentapedilum sp., Pseudochironomus prasinatus, Tanytarsus curticornis and Tanytarsus thienemanni occur in both lotic and lentic waters. Those that occurred only in lentic waters were Chironomus imicola, and Parachironominae sp., while Endochironomus sp., Limnochironomus sp. and Paratanytarsus sp. occurred only in lotic water. Three of the genera recorded in the literature of studies in the Niger Delta, namely Chironomus, Pseudochironomus and Tanytarsus, are in the current description while new genera to the literature of the Niger Delta were Parachironomus, Endochironomus, Limnochironomus, Paratanytarsus, Microtendipes and Pentapedilum. This current contribution to the taxonomy of the Chironominae provide the basis to further study the associations of taxa and how well these associations can be used for selecting indicators for biomonitoring and conservation.