(Goetghebuer, 1942)
Body
Medium sized larvae up to 10 mm long. Living larvae red. Claws on the posterior parapods are simpleor with very small inner teeth. No lateral and ventral tubules. Anal tubules present (Wiederholm, 1983; Moller Pillot, 1984a).
Head
The S3 are very large, branched and directed posteriorly Paraclad campto ceph setae.
Antenna
The antenna consists of 5 segments. The first segment is longer than the flagellum. Lauterborn organs distally on the second segment. The antennal blade arises from the apex of segment 1 (Wiederholm, 1983).
Mentum
The mentum with two only superficially divided teeth and 7 pairs of yellow to yellow-brown lateral teeth The 6th pair is not projecting Paraclad campto mentum. The ventromental plates as wide as the mentum.
Labrum
SI is simpel and labral lamellae are absent. The pecten epipharyngis is simpel triangular or with 3 lobes. The premandible with 4 teeth.
Mandible
The mandible without a dorsal tooth, apical tooth long and 2-3 inner teeth. The pecten mandibularis is present and seta interna with 4 branches.
Differential characteristics
Larvae with one median mental tooth Paraclad laminata mentum can be separated from all genera except Parachironomus and Saetheria by 7 pairs of lateral mental teeth, convex mentum and no dorsal tooth on the mandible. Parachironomus has differently shaped mental teeth Parach Kampen mentum and Saetheria has a premandible with only 3 teeth. Paracladopelma larvae with paired mid-mental teeth can be separated (except from Parachironomus) by 7 pairs of lateral teeth and a premandible with 4 or more teeth. Parachironomus however has a different mentum Parach arc mentum. The shape of the mentum of Paracladopelma looks somewhat like Harnischia. The mentum of Harnischia is flat and not convex and the inner teeth of the mandible are very flat, while they are distinct in Paracladopelma.
P. nigritula can be separated from P. gr laminata by the normal 6th lateral mental tooth, the very large S3 on the dorsal headcapsule. Also the antennal blade not fused with the 2nd antennal segment and 2 median mental teeth are distinctive.