A revised, annotated checklist of Mexican non-biting midges (Diptera, Chironomidae)

Abstract

An updated checklist of Mexican non-biting midges (Chironomidae) is presented. A total of 110 species of Chironomidae are known for Mexico: 52 species in 25 genera belong to the subfamily Chironominae, 30 species in 13 genera to Orthocladiinae, 21 species in nine genera to Tanypodinae, five species in two genera to Telmatogetoninae, and two species in one genus to Diamesinae. In addition, 41 genera without identified species are listed. The highest number of species (29) is recorded from the state of Campeche, while 19 species have been found in Veracruz and 15 in Nuevo León. Few or no records exist for states in Central and Northern Mexico, or those on the Pacific coast. The type localities for 34 species are in Mexico; of these, 27 species (25% of the total number of species recorded in the country) are endemic. Twenty-nine species recorded in Mexico have a Neotropical distribution, 15 a Nearctic distribution, and 39 species are distributed in both the Neotropical and Nearctic regions or more widely. It has been suggested that as many as 1000 species might occur in Mexico; so only a little more than 10% of the expected diversity has so far been recorded.