JoVE - Journal of Visualized Experiments
JoVE Visualize
Contact Us

Contribution to the Diversity of the Genus Sarcophaga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): Checklist, Species Distribution, and New Records for Greece

  • 0Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, University Hill, GR 81100 Mytilene, Greece.
Insects +

|

May 7, 2025

Abstract

The current study presents new records and an updated checklist of the genus Sarcophaga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) for Greece. The records were compiled from published literature, identification of newly collected material obtained through passive (trapping) and active (hand collecting, net sweeping) sampling conducted between 2018 and 2024, and the examination of material from two museum collections: Entomological Collection of the Goulandris Natural History Museum (1983-1987) and the Melissotheque of the Aegean (2004-2024). After the examination of 927 male specimens from 108 localities and the synthesis of the available literature, a total of 72 species distributed across 18 subgenera were documented. Among these, Sarcophaga ferox (Villeneuve, 1908) and Sarcophaga anaces (Walker, 1849) are newly records for Greece, while Sarcophaga beckiana (Lehrer, 1996) represents the first documented occurrence of the species in Europe. The findings represent the most contemporary contribution to the understanding of the species diversity and distribution of the genus Sarcophaga in Greece.

Related Concept Videos

Introduction to Plant Diversity 02:22

43.5K

From Water to Land

Kingdom Plantae first appeared about 410 million years ago as green algae transitioned from water to land. This land was a relatively uncolonized environment with ample resources. Terrestrial environments also offered more light and carbon dioxide, required by plants to grow and survive.

However, the stark differences between land and sea posed a formidable challenge to early colonizing species prompting many new adaptations that have resulted in the wide variety of plant...

Genetics of Speciation 02:16

18.8K

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.

The genetics of speciation involves the different traits or isolating mechanisms preventing gene exchange, leading to reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can be due to reproductive barriers that have effects either before or after the formation of a zygote. Pre-zygotic mechanisms prevent fertilization from occurring, and post-zygotic...

What is Biodiversity? 01:19

27.0K

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.

Biodiversity also includes the interactions that connect organisms...

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes 03:21

7.8K

While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.

Formation of Species 01:31

38.7K

Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.

Allopatric Speciation

In allopatric speciation, gene flow between two populations of the same species is prevented by a geographic...

Biodiversity and Human Values 01:24

13.0K

Human civilization relies on biodiversity in many ways. Sudden changes in species biodiversity result in environmental changes that can modify weather patterns and therefore human civilizations.

Humans are dependent on agriculture, which developed when ancestral humans found species that made suitable foods. At least 11,000 years ago, humans started to select plant and animal species to be cultivated on farms. Going back for thousands of years, humans have been artificially selecting species...