Apparent Incipient speciation in the midge Chironomus oppositus Walker (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Abstract

Field collections of Chironomus oppositus from certain localities in Tasmania, in particular from Bellerive, consistently show distributions of inversions different to those found in the normal form, which is referred to as form A and occurs in mainland Australia and most other Tasmanian populations. These collections showed: (1) a marked deficiency of almost all inversion heterozygotes; (2) significant groups of associated sequences which can be used to define two additional forms, referred to as form B and form C. Since forms B and C have so far only been found together, it would appear that this represents an unusual situation in insect speciation. This karyotypic divergence must be maintained by some restriction on interbreeding, both between these two groups and also between them and form A, with which they appear to coexist in some localities.