This book is the result of our decades-long palaeolimnological research in the Carpathians. It reviews chironomid larval remains found in the sediments of 72 lakes and presents identification keys to chironomid morphotypes, including their diagnosis, distribution, ecology, and palaeolimnological interpretation, along with rich photographic material. The illustrations and photographs are important parts of the book; we included several high-quality pictures of each type, showing the entire head capsule and main diagnostic features, usually the mentum and mandibles, but also other structures that can be useful for distinguishing individual genera and morphotypes if they are included in the larval remains. To demonstrate how many subtle morphological structures are missing in the subfossil remains compared to living larvae, illustrations show the diagnostic characters of both recent (left) and subfossil (right) head capsules. Chapters dealing with individual subfamilies are marked with different colors, making navigation in the book easier.
The identification keys presented in the book distinguish subfamilies, genera, and morphotypes recorded in our material from lakes in the Carpathians but will not work for taxa not included in it (e.g., the tribe Pseudochironomini). There are separate identification keys for subfamilies/tribes and for genera of each subfamily. One of the most important characters used in the general keys is the number of median teeth on the mentum; however, sometimes the exact number of median teeth is not obvious or can be confusing. Thus, genera with an unclear number of median mental teeth are keyed twice. In Orthocladiinae, these genera are Brillia (with both 2 and 3 median teeth) and Diplocladius (with 2 and 4 median teeth), and in Chironominae, Microtendipes pedellus-type (with both 2 and 3 median teeth).
Individual genera are presented using the following structure:
Diagnosis. This section presents the basic morphological features of genera. It includes structures that are frequently not present in subfossils, such as antennae, premandibles, or labral lamellae, especially when they are distinct for the genus. These characters may be useful when identifying living larvae or well-preserved subfossil remains. The diagnosis follows Brooks et al. (2007) and Andersen et al. (2013).
Remarks. This section presents similar genera and morphotypes, highlighting distinct diagnostic characters to distinguish one from another.
Morphotypes. If there are multiple morphotypes within a genus, we provide an identification key for their distinction. For new morphotypes, detailed descriptions are included. The distinction of morphotypes follows Brooks et al. (2007) unless stated otherwise.
Distribution. The distribution is entirely based on our data and shows the distribution of genera and morphotypes within the studied lake districts (orographic units, mountains). Countries where the morphotypes were found are marked as SK (Slovakia), PL (Poland), UA (Ukraine), and RO (Romania).
Ecology and Palaeolimnological Interpretation. When discussing ecological requirements, we summarize the basic knowledge about the genus and morphotypes using literature. The palaeolimnological interpretation of morphotypes is based on both published data from other researchers and our unpublished data and experiences.
In addition to chironomid morphotypes, the final chapter presents the most frequent non-chironomid insect remains found in lake sediments, summarizing the basic knowledge on the ecology and palaeolimnological application of different insect groups. This chapter also includes pupal remains of chironomids, specifically thoracic horns of Tanypodinae, which are frequently recorded in lake sediments.
At the end of the book, we present a list of chironomid genera that were not present in our subfossil material but whose presence in lake sediment in the Carpathians is very likely (Appendix 2).
We hope that you find the book useful. If you discover any mistakes or confusing information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The authors