Austrosimulium (Paraustrosimulium) Wygodzinsky & Coscarón 1962: 244. New subgenus. Stone 1963: 14. Austrosimulium (Paraustrosimulium). Dumbleton 1963: 333. Dumbleton 1973: 484.
Paraustrosimulium. Crosskey 1969: 17. Raised to generic status. Wygodzinsky & Coscarón 1973: 189. Crosskey 1982: 16. Crosskey 1987: 438. Crosskey & Howard 1997: 18. 2004: 10: Adler & Crosskey 2017: 31. Paraustrosimulium. Hernández-Triana et al. 2017: 350.
Re-diagnosis. Adult: Antenna with 8 flagellomeres; frons width variable; female mandible expanded subapically (colboi, obcidens), not so (anthracinum), teeth on both sides; lateral cervical sclerites markedly expressed; antepronotal lobe markedly hirsute (anthracinum), or not (colboi, obcidens); anepisternal (aka pleural) membrane bare; metathoracic furcasternum with dorsal projections; wing with small to minute basal cell; costa with spiniform setae; apical end of R1 with (anthracinum) or without fine spiniform setae; Rs not branched, but may be thickened apically with indication of branching; M appearing thickened apically; Cu curved; female thorax not markedly domed in Australian species, more so for anthracinum, katepisternal sulcus well defined; calcipala well expressed, rounded apically; pedisulcus as series of wrinkles (anthracinum) or definite depression (colboi, obcidens); claw with (anthracinum, obcidens) or without (colboi) definite tooth, when present separated from basal heel by distinct notch; spermatheca externally smooth, internally with sparse acanthae, pigment well extended along duct (obcidens), only slightly (colboi) or not (anthracinum); genital fork with short broad anterior stem, forwardly directed apodemes poorly expressed or absent, lateral arms short, apical lobes large; cercus rounded, anal lobe angulate proximally (colbo, obcidens), tapered (anthracinum); male gonostylus angulate with 2–4 terminal spines; ventral plate angulate laterally, with (colboi, anthracinum) or poorly expressed (obcidens) median keel, median sclerite well developed and M–shaped; parameres plate–like, numerous fine small parameral spines. Pupa: cocoon slipper–shaped, lacking anteroventral collar, well defined anterior edge, no marked medial projection, ventral floor present (colboi) or absent; pupal cuticle brown anteriorly; cephalic and thoracic cuticle with low tubercles; thoracic dorsocentral setae distinct and curled apically; cephalic plate with frontal and facial setae present; gill of simple construction, either annulated tapered tubular construction (colbo, obcidens) or, annulated flattened lamellae (anthracinum), concertinaed in histoblast; abdominal armature not markedly developed, distinct pleurites not present or markedly small; tergites III and IV with 4+4 hooks posteriorly, V to IX with spine combs anteriorly, sternum V with 4+4 hooks posteriorly, sternum VI and VII with 1+1 hooks, or all sternal hooks absent (colboi), small hooks on small pleurites VI and VII; poorly expressed spine comb on tergite IX, terminal spines short and blunt, grapnel hooks exacerbated. Larva: cervical sclerites small, subcircular to elongated, not fused to postocciput or slightly so; postgenal cleft well developed (colbo, obcidens) or shallow (anthracinum); antenna slightly longer than labral fan stem, medial plus basal antennomeres shorter than distal antennomere. Mandibles with apical teeth on narrowed extension, spinous teeth fine and pointed, mandibular serration and sensillum as separate structures; hypostoma with 13 teeth not arranged in distinct groups, underlain by ventral edge of hypostoma; abdominal cuticle bare, except for rectal scales only in anthracinum; anal sclerite X–shaped, with lateral thickening of medial region (aka interarm struts); accessory and semicircular sclerites absent; rectal papillae of three simple lobes.
Constituents. Paraustrosimulium anthracinum (Bigot) (South America), Paraustrosimulium colboi (Davies & Györkös) (Victoria, Australia), P. obcidens Craig, Moulton, Currie n. sp. (Western Australia).