Kieffer, 1918
Body
Medium sized larvae up to 8.5 mm long. Living larvae red. Claws on the posterior parapods are simpel. No lateral and ventral tubules (Wiederholm, 1983; Moller Pillot, 1984a).
Head
Antenna
The antenna, on a broad pedestal, consists of 5 segments. The basal segment and blade subequal to the flagellum. Lauterborn organs absent.
Mentum
The mentum has an indistinct crenate median tooth Microch deribae mentum or 3 median teeth and 6 pairs of lateral teeth. The 4th pair is very small and the 5th lateral is larger than the neighbouring teeth Microch tener mentum. The ventromental plates are 0.7-0.9x as wide as the mentum.
Labrum
SI is simpel and labral lamellae are absent. The pecten epipharyngis is either a simpel plate or distally divided into 3 lobes. The premandible has 2 apical teeth.
Mandible
The mandible without a dorsal tooth, apical tooth and 2 flat Microch tener mandible or pointed inner teeth present Microch deribae mandible. The pecten mandibularis is absent and seta interna with 4 branches.
Differential characteristics
The flat mentum with the 5th lateral tooth larger than the neighbouring teeth Microch tener mentum is distinctive.
Diversity
European species: 3
Treated species:
Microchironomus deribae
Microchironomus tener