Telmatogeton trochanteratum Edwards (Diptera: Chironomidae)---a marine invader from Chile

Abstract

The increase in maritime trade in the recent past has enabled the rapid opportunistic intercontinental movement of many marine organisms. Larvae of the marine species of the dipteran genus Telmatogeton (Chironomidae) are well adapted to take advantage of such traffic. Wirth notes that although the adults live for only a few hours, the larvae, which live preferentially in sites of high current flow in the tidal splash zone, take some time to complete their development. Brodin and Anderson (2008) point out that the larvae of T. japonicus have the ability to withstand harsh and highly variable conditions and their habit of living in a tube bound to a solid substrate enables them to attach themselves to the hulls of ships. In fact, Kerckhof records their occurrence on ships' hulls. The rapid spread of T. japonicus through the European seaboard by this method has been fairly well documented. The first record was just north of the major shipping port of Kiel in Germany. By the mid 1990s it had been recorded from the shores of Poland, Germany and Sweden and by 2008 it had invaded eight further countries (Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Norway and Iceland). In 2009 it was also recorded from Finland.