Scavengers flesh flies (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) from two phytophysiognomies in the state of Maranhão, Northeastern of Brazil

Abstract

Flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) have been found in a wide range of natural and anthropogenic environments, from forests to deserts. The state of Maranhão, located in Northeastern Brazil, has a diverse phytogeography, but few faunistic studies have been conducted in this area. Therefore, the objective of this study was to inventory species of Sarcophagidae and compare abundance patterns between the Cerrado (savanna-like vegetation) and riparian forests in the municipality of Codó, state of Maranhão. Twelve sampling events were carried out from the second half of 2015 to the first half of 2017. This resulted in 3,220 specimens, 27.15% of which were males, from nine genera and 27 species. A total of 491 specimens (16 species) were collected in the Cerrado, and 383 specimens (21 species) in the riparian forest. Peckia (Sarcodexia) lambens (Wiedemann) was the most abundant species (56,18% of the specimens sampled), followed by Peckia (Peckia) pexata (Wulp) (13%); Peckia (Euboettcheria) collusor (Curran & Walley) (13%), and Peckia (Peckia) chrysostoma Wiedemann (10%). Only P. (E.) collusor was found in greater abundance in the Cerrado. Oxysarcodexia angrensis (Lopes), Peckia (Peckia) enderleini (Engel), and Retrocitomiya andina Lopes are all new records to Maranhão and the entire Northeast Region of Brazil. Titanogrypa (Cuculomyia) albuquerquei (Lopes) is also a new to Maranhão.

Succession of medico-legal important flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in the temporal gradient of pig decomposition in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…This distinct behavior in comparison to other species within the same genus can be attributed to significant variations in the immature and adult life history of Peckia species. These variations encompass diverse roles, spanning from sarcosaprophages, coprophages, frugivores, omnivores, to parasites of both vertebrates and invertebrates 9 , 18 , 19 , 40 , 58 .…”

Sarcophagidae (Diptera) do Cerrado Sul Maranhense: expansão na distribuição geográfica de Sarcophaga (Neobelleria) libera Aldrich, 1916

“…1). Alguns estudos recentes no Brasil têm descrito novas espécies para a ciência (Carvalho-Filho et al 2022;Silva et al 2022), bem como, o registro da ampliação da distribuição de espécies de Sarcophagidae no território brasileiro, tornando os inventários necessários, principalmente devido as lacunas existentes para a família no Brasil (Paseto et al 2019;Nascimento et al 2021;Ramos et al 2022;Carvalho-Filho et al 2022). Esses resultados demonstram que, embora os números de estudos dessa família venham aumentando nas últimas décadas (Barbosa et al 2015;Sousa et al 2015;Barbosa et al 2020;Jales et al 2020;Silva et al 2023), a verdadeira diversidade da região ainda é desconhecida e mais pesquisas são necessárias.…”

Development of flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) of medico-legal importance on pig carcass in the Cerrado of Brazil

“…The number of Sarcophagidae species recorded for the Cerrado, on the other hand, is high [4,7,19,[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36], as several species of the group prefer open and sunny places [32,35,37]; however, this fauna remains poorly studied in the Northeast Region.…”