Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5828 No. 3: 10 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-10
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5828.3.4
Page range: 481-501
Abstract views: 247
PDF downloaded: 2

DNA barcodes reveal cryptic species of Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) montanus species group (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Oriental China

Engineering Research Center of Environmental DNA and Ecological Water Health Assessment; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China; Shanghai Universities Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Taxonomy and Evolution; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China
Engineering Research Center of Environmental DNA and Ecological Water Health Assessment; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China; Shanghai Universities Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Taxonomy and Evolution; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China
Engineering Research Center of Environmental DNA and Ecological Water Health Assessment; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China; Shanghai Universities Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Taxonomy and Evolution; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China
Dawa Innovation Studio; Institute of Plateau Biology of Xizang Autonomous Region; Lhasa 850000; China
Engineering Research Center of Environmental DNA and Ecological Water Health Assessment; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China; Shanghai Universities Key Laboratory of Marine Animal Taxonomy and Evolution; Shanghai Ocean University; Shanghai 201306; China; Dawa Innovation Studio; Institute of Plateau Biology of Xizang Autonomous Region; Lhasa 850000; China
Diptera Orthocladiinae taxonomy pupa female key

Abstract

Two cryptic species of Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) montanus species group (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Oriental China have been discovered by DNA barcodes. Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) motuoensis Chen & Lin, sp. nov., and Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) neomatudigitatus Chen & Lin, sp. nov. are described and illustrated. The validity of some previously described species is discussed, and the diagnosis of the subgenus is amended. A key to known adult males of Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) is presented.

References

  1. Andersen, T., Sæther, O.A., Cranston, P.S., & Epler, J.H. (2013) The larvae of Orthocladiinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) of the Holarctic region–Keys and diagnoses. Insect Systematics & Evolution, 66, 189–385.
  2. Cranston, P., Oliver, D. & Sæther, O. (1989) The adult males of Orthocladiinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) of the Holarctic region–Keys and diagnoses. Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement, 34, 165–352.
  3. Cranston, P.S. & Oliver, D. (1988) Additions and corrections to the nearctic Orthocladiinae (Diptera: Chironomidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 120(5), 425–462. https://doi.org/10.4039/Ent120425-5
  4. de Waard, J.R., Ivanova, N.V., Hajibabaei, M. & Hebert, P.D. (2008) Assembling DNA barcodes. In Environmental Genomics. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp. 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-548-0_15
  5. Edgar, R.C. (2004) MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. Nucleic acids research, 32 (5), 1792–1797. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkh340
  6. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Suleski, M., Sanderford, M., Sharma, S. & Tamura, K. (2024) MEGA12: molecular evolutionary genetic analysis version 12 for adaptive and green computing. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 41 (12), msae263. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msae263
  7. Li, S.-Y., Chen, M.-H., Sun, L., Wang, R.-H., Li, C.-H., Gresens, S., Li, Z. & Lin, X.-L. (2024) New mitogenomes from the genus Cricotopus (Diptera: Chironomidae, Orthocladiinae): Characterization and phylogenetic implications. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 115 (1), e22067. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.22067
  8. Lin, X.-L., Yu, H.-J., Wang, Q., Bu, W.-J. & Wang, X.-H. (2020) DNA barcodes and morphology confirm a new species of Rheocricotopus (Psilocricotopus) orientalis group (Diptera: Chironomidae). Zootaxa, 4768 (2), 282–290. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4768.2.9
  9. Lin, X.-L., Jiang, K., Liu, W.-B., Liu, W., Bu, W.-J., Wang, X.-H. & Mo, L. (2021) Toward a global DNA barcode reference library of the intolerant nonbiting midge genus Rheocricotopus Brundin, 1956. Ecology and Evolution, 11(17), 12161–12172. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7979
  10. Nishida, H. (1987) Pseudocricotopus, a new subgenus of the genus Cricotopus (Diptera, Chironomidae) from Japan. Kontyu, 55(3), 459–476.
  11. Ratnasingham, S. & Hebert, P. D. (2007) BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data System (http://www. barcodinglife. org). Molecular Ecology Notes, 7 (3), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01678.x
  12. Sæther, O.A. (1969) Some Nearctic Podonominae, Diamesinae and Orthocladiiane. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 170(1), 1–154.
  13. Sæther, O.A. (1980) Glossary of chironomid morphology terminology (Diptera: Chironomidae). Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement, 14, 1–51.
  14. Song, C., Lin, X.-L., Wang, Q. & Wang, X.-H. (2018) DNA barcodes successfully delimit morphospecies in a superdiverse insect genus. Zoologica Scripta, 47 (3), 311–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12284
  15. Wang X. (2000) A revised checklist of chironomids from China (Diptera). In Late 20th Century Research on Chironomidae: An Anthology from the 13th International Symposium on Chironomidae, 2000 (pp. 629–652). Shaker Verlag.
  16. Wu, H. & Yang, D. (2023) Zhejiang Insects. Science Press, Beijing, 209 pp.
  17. Xu, H.-F., Lv, M.-Y., Zhao, Y., Zhang, Z.-C., Liu, Z. & Lin, X.-L. (2025) Cryptic Diversity and Climatic Niche Divergence of Brillia Kieffer (Diptera: Chironomidae): Insights from a Global DNA Barcode Dataset. Insects, 16 (7), 675. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16070675
  18. Yang, D., Li, Z. & Liu, Q. (2020) Species Catalogue of China. Science Press, Beijing, pp. 259–260.

How to Cite

Chen, Y.-Z., Zhang, Z.-C., Zhang, Y., Nyima, T. & Lin, X.-L. (2026) DNA barcodes reveal cryptic species of Cricotopus (Pseudocricotopus) montanus species group (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Oriental China. Zootaxa, 5828 (3), 481–501. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5828.3.4