Pontomyia
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| Edwards , 1926 |
Pontomyia is a genus belonging to the mosquito family (Chironomidae) of the two-winged species (mosquitoes and flies). It is widespread in the West Pacific . The type species Pontomyia natans was first discovered in the lagoons of the Samoa Islands. The female adults are wingless, have only rudimentary middle and rear legs and live submerged in the sea. The males have well-trained holders , but also reduced wings. In contrast to other mosquitoes, the genus has smooth, tuftless antennae .
The adults only live an hour or two. The females only hatch from the pupa when males are present. These are then carried by the females with two pairs of legs and swim around while they mate. The eggs are laid in suitable places on dead corals or plants.
species
Four species of the genus Pontomyia have been described:
- Pontomyia cottoni Womersley, 1937
- Pontomyia natans Edwards, 1926
- Pontomyia oceana Tokunaga, 1964
- Pontomyia pacifica Tokunaga, 1932
literature
- Frederick Wallace Edwards: On marine Chironomidae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, pp. 779-806, 1926 (first description of Pontomyia natans )
- Keryea Soong, Guo-Fang Chen and Jun-Ren Cao: Life history studies of the flightless marine midges Pontomyia spp. (Diptera: Chironomidae) . Zoological Studies 38 (4), pp. 466–473, 1999 ( full text PDF, English)
- L. Cheng and JD Collins: Observations on behavior, emergence and reproduction of the marine midges Pontomya (Diptera: Chironomidae). Marine Biology 58, pp. 1-5, 1980
- KR Norris: General biology. In: The Insects of Australia. Vol. I, 2nd Edition, pp. 68-108, CSIRO, Melbourne University Press, 1991