Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5807 No. 3: 12 May 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-05-12
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5807.3.1
Page range: 401-426
Abstract views: 95
PDF downloaded: 12

A new species and new records of Scathophagidae (Diptera) from high-altitude wetlands in South Korea, with an assessment of DNA barcoding utility

School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Biodiversity; Seoul National University; Seoul 08826; Republic of Korea; Comparative Medicine Disease Research Center; Seoul National University; Seoul 08826; Republic of Korea
School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Biodiversity; Seoul National University; Seoul 08826; Republic of Korea; Comparative Medicine Disease Research Center; Seoul National University; Seoul 08826; Republic of Korea
Diptera high-altitude wetland Cordilura Cleigastra Megaphthalma integrative taxonomy East Asia

Abstract

Scathophagidae (Diptera: Calyptratae) are among the most diverse fly families in cool, montane habitats, yet its Korean fauna is still incompletely documented. During surveys of high-altitude wetlands (> 974 m above sea level) on Mt Jirisan, we collected two species of Cordilura (Fallén, 1810), a previously unrecorded species in Korea, Cordilura monochroma Ozerov & Krivosheina, 2014, a new species, Cordilura paludicola sp. nov., and two newly recorded genera Cleigastra and Megaphthalma, with Cleigastra (Cleigastra) flavipes (Fallén, 1819) and Megaphthalma pallida (Fallén, 1819). Diagnostic morphology, habitus photographs, and illustrations of the male and female terminalia are provided, together with a revised key to the species of South Korean Cordilura. We documented biological notes on C. paludicola sp. nov. and its phenotypic variation of female specimens. To assist in species identification, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences were obtained from specimens to assess DNA barcoding. Species boundaries were assessed by analyzing the distribution of all pairwise genetic distances to visually identify the barcoding gap.

References

  1. Bagachanova, A.K., Ovchinnikov, A.N. & Ozerov, A.L. (2016) On the fauna of Scathophagidae (Diptera) of Yakutia. Entomological Review, 96, 775–785. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873816060087
  2. Bailey, E.M., Michelsen, V., Cassel, B.K., Szpila, K., Bayless, K.M., Grzywacz, A., Powell, G.S., Pape, T. & Wiegmann, B.M. (2026) Phylogenomics of Anthomyiidae and a revised classification of Scathophagidae (Diptera: Calyptratae). Systematic Entomology, 51 (1), e70037. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.70037
  3. Ball, S.G. (2014) Key to the British Scathophagidae (Diptera). Version 4.1. Available from: http://scathophagidae.myspecies.info/content/identification (accessed 17 February 2026)
  4. Becker, T. (1894) Dipterologische Studien. I. Scatomyzidae. Berliner entomologische Zeitschrift, 39, 77–196. https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnd.18940390108
  5. Bernasconi, M.V. & Šifner, F. (2021) Annotated supplements to catalogues of the family Scathophagidae (Diptera) in the world, with new taxonomic data, notes on some species and new list of species. Linzer Biologische Beiträge, 52, 1267–1306.
  6. Blanckenhorn, W.U., Pemberton, A.J., Bussière, L.F., Roembke, J. & Floate, K.D. (2010) A review of the natural history and laboratory culture methods for the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria. Journal of Insect Science, 10 (1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1673/031.010.1101
  7. Brauer, F. & Bergenstamm, J.E. von (1889) Die Zweiflügler des Kaiserlichen Museums zu Wien. IV. Vorarbeiten zu einer Monographie der Muscaria schizometopa (exclusive Anthomyidae). Pars I.Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, 56 (1), 69–180.
  8. Brown, B.V. (1993) A further chemical alternative to critical-point-drying for preparing small (or large) flies. Fly Times, 11, 10.
  9. Collin, J.E. (1958) A short synopsis of the British Scatophagidae (Diptera). Transactions of the Society for British Entomology, 13, 37–56.
  10. Cumming, J.M. & Wood, D.M. (2017) [Chapter] 3. Adult morphology and terminology. In: Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. & Sinclair, B.J. (Eds.), Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Vol. 1. Introductory chapters and keys to Diptera families. Suricata 4. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, pp. 89–133.
  11. Fabricius, J.C. (1805) Systema antliatorum secundum ordines, genera, species adiectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Carolum Reichard, Brunsvigae, xiv + 172 + 30 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.15806
  12. Fallén, C.F. (1810) Specimen entomologicum novam Diptera disponendi methodum exhibens. Litteris Berlingianis, Lundae, 26 pp.
  13. Fallén, C.F. (1819) Scatomyzidae Sveciae. Berlingianis, Lundae [Lund], 10 pp.
  14. Folmer, O., Black, M., Hoeh, W., Lutz, R. & Vrijenhoek, R. (1994) DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology, 3 (5), 294–299.
  15. Gorodkov, K.B. (1970) [Family Scatophagidae (Cordyluridae, Scatomyzidae, Scopeumatidae)]. In: Bei-Bienko, G.Y. (Ed.), Opredelitel’ nasekomykh evropeiskoi chasti SSSR [Keys to the insects of the European part of the USSR]. Vol. 5. Diptera, Siphonaptera. Part 2. Nauka, Leningrad, pp. 440–458. [in Russian]
  16. Gorodkov, K.B. (1986) Family Scathophagidae. In: Soós, Á. & Papp, L. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera. Vol. 11. Scathophagidae–Hypodermatidae. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp. 11–41.
  17. Han, S., Choi, J. & Shin, S. (2023) First record of Cordilura shatalkini Ozerov, 1997 and Cordilura nubecula Sasakawa, 1986 (Diptera: Scathophagidae) from Korea. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, 16 (3), 450–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2023.03.014
  18. Heraty, J. & Hawks, D. (1998) Hexamethyldisilazane—a chemical alternative for drying insects. Entomological News, 109, 369–374.
  19. Iwasa, M. (2021) Three new species and six new records of Scathophagidae (Diptera) from Japan, with a key to the Japanese genera. Zootaxa, 4981 (3), 531–553. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4981.3.6
  20. James, M.T. (1955) The genus Cordilura in America North of Mexico. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 48 (1–2), 84–100. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/48.1-2.84
  21. Jong, H. de (2000) Family Scathophagidae. In: Papp, L. & Darvas, B. (Eds.), Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera. Appendix. Science Herald, Budapest, pp. 431–445.
  22. Katoh, K., Rozewicki, J. & Yamada, K.D. (2019) MAFFT online service: multiple sequence alignment, interactive sequence choice and visualization. Briefings in Bioinformatics, 20 (4), 1160–1166. https://doi.org/10.1093/bib/bbx108
  23. Kumar, S., Stecher, G., Suleski, M., Sanderford, M., Sharma, S. & Tamura, K. (2024) MEGA12: Molecular Evolutionary Genetic Analysis Version 12 for Adaptive and Green Computing. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 41 (12), msae263. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msae263
  24. Larsson, A. (2014) AliView: a fast and lightweight alignment viewer and editor for large datasets. Bioinformatics, 30 (22), 3276–3278. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btu531
  25. Letunic, I. & Bork, P. (2021) Interactive Tree Of Life (iTOL) v5: an online tool for phylogenetic tree display and annotation. Nucleic Acids Research, 49 (W1), W293–W296. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkab301
  26. Linnaeus, C. (1758) Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Salvius, Holmiae, 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542
  27. Loew, H. (1872) Diptera Americae septentrionalis indigena. Centuria decima. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, 16, 49–124. https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnd.18720160110
  28. Loew, H. (1873) Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäischen zweiflügeligen Insecten. Von Johann Wilhelm Meigen. Zehnter Theil oder vierter Supplementband. Beschreibung europäischer Dipteren. Dritter Band. H.W. Schmidt, Halle, viii + 320 pp.
  29. Macquart, J. (1835) Histoire naturelle des Insectes. Diptères. Vol. 2. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, 710 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.14274
  30. Malloch, J.R. (1924) Two new cordylurid flies from the Pacific Coast. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 1, 14–15.
  31. Meigen, J.W. (1826) Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäischen zweiflüglien Insecten. Vol. 5. Schulz, Hamm, xii + 412 pp.
  32. Neff, S.E. & Wallace, J.B. (1969) Observations on the immature stages of Cordilura (Achaetella) deceptiva and C. (A.) varipes. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 62, 775–785. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/62.4.775
  33. Ozerov, A.L. (1997) [Five new species of the genus Cordilura (Diptera, Scathophagidae) from the Far East of Russia]. Zoologicheskiy zhurnal, 76 (12), 1424–1429. [in Russian]
  34. Ozerov, A.L. (2007) Four new species of dung flies (Diptera: Scathophagidae) from Russian Far East. Russian Entomological Journal, 16 (1), 123–126.
  35. Ozerov, A.L. (2009a) New species of Scathophagidae. Russian Entomological Journal, 17 (4), 419–427. [2008]
  36. Ozerov, A.L. (2009b) Family Scathophagidae. In: Storozhenko, S.Y. (Ed.), Insects of Lazovsky Nature Reserve. Dalnauka, Vladivostok, pp. 379. [in Russian]
  37. Ozerov, A.L. (2012) Five new species of the family Scathophagidae (Diptera) from China. Far Eastern Entomologist, 244, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.21.3.12
  38. Ozerov, A.L. & Krivosheina, M.G. (2014) To the fauna of dung flies (Diptera: Scathophagidae) of Russian Far East. Russian Entomological Journal, 23 (3), 203–222. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.23.3.07
  39. Ozerov, A.L. & Krivosheina, M.G. (2015) A review of the genera Cleigastra Macquart, Gonarcticus Becker, Gonatherus Rondani, Hexamitocera Becker, Nanna Strobl, Orthacheta Becker and Spathephilus Becker (Diptera, Scathophagidae) of Russia. Zootaxa, 4012 (2), 201–258. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4012.2.1
  40. Ozerov, A.L. & Krivosheina, M.G. (2016) To taxonomy of the genus Cleigastra Macquart, 1835 (Diptera: Scatophagidae) with description of two new species. Russian Entomological Journal, 25 (1), 97–102. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.25.1.09
  41. Ozerov, A.L. & Krivosheina, M.G. (2020) A review of the genus Cordilura Fallén, 1810 (Diptera: Scathophagidae) of Russia. Russian Entomological Journal, 29 (4), 439–480. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.29.4.13
  42. Ozerov, A.L. & Krivosheina, M.G. (2023) Contribution to the fauna of dung flies (Diptera: Scathophagidae) from Russia with a key to genera and a checklist of the Russian Scathophagidae. Russian Entomological Journal, 32 (1), 95–122. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusentj.32.1.12
  43. Posit Team (2026) RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. Version 2026.01.0+392. Posit Software, PBC, Boston, Massachusetts. Available from: https://www.posit.co/ (accessed 5 February 2026)
  44. Ringdahl, O. (1936) Anteckningar till svenska arter av familjen Scopeumatidae (Diptera). Entomologisk Tidskrift, 57 (2–3), 158–179.
  45. Robineau-Desvoidy, J.B. (1830) Essai sur les Myodaires. Vol. 2. l’Imprimerie Royal, Paris.
  46. Rondani, C. (1856) Dipterologiae Italicae Prodromus. Vol. I. Genera Italica ordinis dipterorum ordinatim disposita et distincta et in familias et stirpes aggregata. Ex Tipographia Alexandri Stocchii, Parmae, 226 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.8160
  47. Sasakawa, M. (1986) Two new species of the genus Cordilura Fallén (Diptera, Scatophagidae) from Japan. Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, 33, 40–44.
  48. Šifner, F. (1975) Scatophagidae (Diptera) de Mongolie. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici, 67, 219–227.
  49. Šifner, F. (2008) A catalogue of the Scathophagidae (Diptera) of the Palaearctic region, with notes on their taxonomy and faunistics. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 48, 111–196.
  50. Strobl, G. (1894) Die Dipteren von Steiermark. II. Theil. Mitteilungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins für Steiermark, 30, 1–152.
  51. Vockeroth, J.R. (1965) Subfamily Scatophaginae. In: Stone, A., Sabrosky, C.W., Wirth, W.W., Foote, R.H. & Coulson, J.R. (Eds.), A catalog of the Diptera of America north of Mexico. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 276. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 826–842.
  52. Vockeroth, J.R. (1987) Scathophagidae. In: McAlpine, J.F., Peterson, B.V., Shewell, G.E., Teskey, H.J.,
  53. Vockeroth, J.R. & Wood, D.M. (Coords.), Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Vol. 2. Research Branch Monograph 28. Agriculture Canada, Research Branch, Ottawa, Ontario, pp. 1085–1097.
  54. Vockeroth, J.R. (2010) Scathophagidae (dung flies). In: Brown, B.V., Borkent, A., Cumming, J.M., Woodley, N.E. & Zumbado, M.A. (Eds.), Manual of Central American Diptera. Vol. 2. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, pp. 1267–1269.
  55. Wallace, J.B. & Neff, S.E. (1971) Biology and immature stages of the genus Cordilura (Diptera: Scathophagidae) in the eastern United States. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 64, 1310–1311. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/64.6.1310
  56. Westwood, J.O. (1840) Order XIII. Diptera Aristotle. (Antlianta Fabricius. Halteriptera Clairv.). In: Westwood, J.O., Synopsis of the genera of British Insects. An introduction to the modern classification of insects. Vol. 2. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London, pp. 125–154.
  57. Zetterstedt, J.W. (1838) Insecta Lapponica. Leopold Voss, Lipsiae [Leipzig], vi + 1140 pp.

How to Cite

Han, S. & Shin, S. (2026) A new species and new records of Scathophagidae (Diptera) from high-altitude wetlands in South Korea, with an assessment of DNA barcoding utility. Zootaxa, 5807 (3), 401–426. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5807.3.1