Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from transitional Caatinga-Cerrado areas in the state of Piauí, Northeast Brazil.

Abstract

The Sarcophagidae family (Diptera) encompasses a group of flies of significant ecological importance. Additionally, numerous species within this family hold substantial value in the realms of medicine, veterinary and forensic science. The objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive survey of Sarcophagidae species within transitional zones between the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes in the Northeastern region of Brazil. To achieve this, a total of 15 field expeditions were conducted across three distinct phytophysiognomies-riparian, vereda, and a segment of shrubby Caatinga-from 2019 to 2021. A total of 16 genera and 40 species were collected. Among them, a new species for science (Titanogrypa (Airypel) sp. nov.), Emblemasoma emblemasoma Dodge is newly recorded from South America/Brazil and the Caatinga biome, and three species constitute new records for the Northeast region (Dexosarcophaga patiuorum Santos, Pape & Mello-Patiu, Lepidodexia (Notochaeta) fumipennis (Lopes), and Oxysarcodexia meridionalis (Engel)). The most abundant species were Oxysarcodexia thornax (Walker), Oxysarcodexia avuncula (Lopes), and Argoravinia (Argoravinia) catiae Carvalho Filho & Esposito, collectively constituting 56.11% of the entire collected sample. The distribution of species across different vegetations was noted, with 19 species exclusive to riparian vegetation, three to vereda vegetation, and seven species unique to the Caatinga.