Redescription of Sphecapatoclea excisa Villeneuve, 1909 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae).

Sphecapatoclea excisa Villeneuve, 1909, the type species of the Palaearctic genus Sphecapatoclea Villeneuve, 1909, is redescribed based on a female syntype and on material from Makhtesh Ramon National Park, Israel, and its first instar larva is described for the first time. The species is sexually dimorphic, with much darker adult males. The male genital apparatus is unique by its compressed and sclerotised epiphallus. The morphology of the first instar larva is in accordance with the recently suggested position of the genus Sphecapatoclea in the Old World clade of the "lower" Miltogramminae. Two COI mini-barcodes are provided for S. excisa, and molecular data are in agreement with sequences for Sphecapatoclea spp. available in GenBank. Morphology supports a broad concept of the genus, as S. excisa presents a mixture of character states traditionally used to diagnose either Sphecapatoclea (s. str.) or Parthomyia Rohdendorf, 1925. Available morphological keys for genera of Palaearctic Miltogramminae are compared for functionality, and possible autapomorphies from both adult and larval morphology are discussed.

DNA barcoding allows identification of European Fanniidae (Diptera) of forensic interest.

In forensic entomology practice, species identification is a prerequisite for any further analysis of collected material. Although morphology-based taxonomy may be hindered by a range of factors, these are not obstacles for a molecular identification approach, so-called DNA barcoding. The Fanniidae are a dipteran family that is attracted to and breeds in decomposing animal carrion and dead human bodies. However, morphological identification of fanniids, both at adult and immature stages, is considered to be difficult, particularly for non-experts. We investigated the usefulness of molecular taxonomy methods as an alternative/supplement for morphology-based identification in European Fanniidae of forensic interest. The material used in this study was collected from various regions in Asia, Europe and North America. We sequenced a barcode region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) in 27 species. For 13 species, including some taxa breeding in dead bodies, this study describes COI sequences for the first time. Our analysis revealed that both mini-barcode and full-length COI barcode sequences give very high specimen identification success. Despite the large number of COI barcode sequences referring to Fanniidae in the BOLD and GenBank databases, previous identification of forensically relevant Fanniidae was hindered by uneven taxonomic sampling. The majority of available sequences refer to species that are not of medico-legal interest, and many species of forensic interest are unrepresented or represented only by a single sequence. Because of erroneous data that are present in depository databases, DNA barcoding must be used with caution and cannot be considered to be the sole alternative to other identification methods. Wolbachia infections in the examined material did not disrupt specimen identification. The obtained results will facilitate precise identification of European Fanniidae of forensic interest, badly preserved material with degraded DNA, as well as matching of unidentified females and immature stages to already described specimens.