First record of the Ravinia almeidai (Lopes, 1946) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Sarcophaginae) to the state of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The first record of Ravinia almeidai (Lopes, 1946) is reported for the state of Bahia, northeast region of Brazil. The record of this fly species significantly contributes to the knowledge of sarcophagids from the northeast, as well as to the mapping of its distribution in the Brazilian territory.

New records of Sarcophaga Meigen (Diptera: Sarcophagidae: Sarcophaginae) for the Northeast region of Brazil

“…One of the particularities of this family is its ovoviviparous biology (at least for the vast majority of species -see Bordas et al (2007) [8] and Pimsler et al (2014) [9]), the female sarcophagids deposit first instar larvae on the colonization substrate and, this characteristic can enable pioneering in the colonization of the substrate [10,11]. Of the substrates used by sarcophagids, their role in colonizing decomposing non-human vertebrate carcasses [e.g.…”

“…10,[18][19][20][21][22][23]. Thus, due to these characteristics sarcophagids are considered an important tool for Forensic Entomology and are mainly used to help determine time of death (Post-Mortem Interval -PMI) [5,10,11,13,17,24,25]. Additionally, the ability of some species to cause facultative myiasis in humans also represents an important tool for authorities during their investigations of suspected mistreatment and neglect to incapable.…”

“…Despite the veterinary (myiasis in domestic animals), medical (myiasis in humans and potential microscopic pathogen vectors), and forensic (participation in cadaveric decomposition) importance of sarcophagids, studies about these fauna are mainly concentrated in the Northern, Southern and Southeastern regions of Brazil [3,38]. Therefore, little is known about this fauna in other regions, especially the Northeastern region of the country [11]. Many factors contribute to the difficulty of gathering knowledge on sarcophagids in other regions of the country, especially in the Northeast such as: the great species richness of this group, the taxonomic difficulties in recognizing these dipterans at the species level, the lack of taxonomic reference collections, lack of adequate literature and, above all, the reduced number of taxonomists specializing in Sarcophagidae, often prevents and/or discourages research on this important family of flies [11,16].…”

“…Therefore, little is known about this fauna in other regions, especially the Northeastern region of the country [11]. Many factors contribute to the difficulty of gathering knowledge on sarcophagids in other regions of the country, especially in the Northeast such as: the great species richness of this group, the taxonomic difficulties in recognizing these dipterans at the species level, the lack of taxonomic reference collections, lack of adequate literature and, above all, the reduced number of taxonomists specializing in Sarcophagidae, often prevents and/or discourages research on this important family of flies [11,16].…”