Biodiversity Data Journal : Taxonomy & Inventories
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Taxonomy & Inventories
First report of Aphria latifrons (Diptera, Tachinidae, Leskiini) in the Canary Islands
expand article infoDaniel Suárez‡, David Lugo§, Mónica Pérez-Gil|, Gustavo Peña§, Carlos Ruiz§
‡ Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group, Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (IPNA-CSIC), La Laguna (Tenerife), Spain
§ Departamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna (Tenerife), Spain
| Cetaceans and Marine Research Institute of the Canary Islands, San Bartolomé (Lanzarote), Spain
Corresponding author: Daniel Suárez (danielsura94@gmail.com)
Academic editor: AJ Fleming
Received: 17 Jul 2023 | Accepted: 14 Sep 2023 | Published: 21 Sep 2023
© 2023 Daniel Suárez, David Lugo, Mónica Pérez-Gil, Gustavo Peña, Carlos Ruiz
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Suárez D, Lugo D, Pérez-Gil M, Peña G, Ruiz C (2023) First report of Aphria latifrons (Diptera, Tachinidae, Leskiini) in the Canary Islands. Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e109690. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e109690
 Open Access

Abstract

Background

The Canary Islands are an archipelago of volcanic origin, located off north-west Africa comprising eight islands. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are the oldest (20 and 15 millon years old, respectively) and the easternmost islands. The order Diptera is one of the most relevant taxa in the Canary Islands as they constitute the second highest species richness. Within this order, the family Tachinidae is especially interesting as all species are endoparasitoids of arthropods and most species play a key role as pollinators. In the Canary Islands, the family comprises 52 species, with Fuerteventura and Lanzarote harbouring up to 20 species each.

New information

Aphria latifrons, a Palaearctic tachinid fly, is reported for the first time from the Canary Islands, where it was found on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Morphological examination was carried out and the first known barcode of the species is presented. Its potential distribution and source of origin are discussed.

Keywords

new record, distribution, parasitoid, Macaronesia

Introduction

The Canary Islands are an archipelago of volcanic origin, located off north-west Africa comprising eight islands. Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are the oldest (20 and 15 million years old, respectively) and the easternmost islands, being only 96 km off the African coast (Troll and Carracedo 2016). Due to a comparatively low altitude, the humidity of the tradewinds is not retained, which results in little precipitation and desert-like conditions. Together with erosion and aridification, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote exhibit a reduced habitat diversity compared to younger central and western islands (Macías-Hernandez et al. 2016). The order Diptera is one of the most relevant taxa in the Canary Islands as it constitutes the highest species richness (being only superseded by the hyperdiverse Coleoptera), with a total number of 1,167 species, almost a third of these endemic to the Islands (Gobierno de Canarias 2023). The family Tachinidae is especially interesting as all species are endoparasitoids of arthropods (Stireman et al. 2019) and most species play a key role as pollinators (Tooker et al. 2006). In the Canary Islands, the family comprises 52 species, with Fuerteventura and Lanzarote harbouring up to 20 species each (Gobierno de Canarias 2023). There is a strong separation in the tachinid species assemblage of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote compared to the remaining islands, with a high percentage of exclusive species, most of them being Mediterranean and distributed in coastal areas (Suárez et al. 2020). This pattern could be driven by the similarity with the neighbouring arid part of the African continent (Báez et al. 1986). In order to contribute to the knowledge of the Tachinidae fauna of the Canary Islands, we provide a first report of the genus Aphria Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, based on specimens observed and collected on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

Materials and methods

A single specimen was hand-collected, pinned and examined under a Zeiss Stemi 2000 stereomicroscope. The specimen was identified using a dichotomous key of Western Palaearctic-inhabiting species of the genus Aphria (Cerretti 2010), as well as with original descriptions including Eastern Palaearctic and Nearctic species (Townsend 1891, Townsend 1908, Villeneuve 1908, Mesnil 1963, Richter 1978, Herting 1984). DNA was extracted from one leg using NucleoSpin Macherey-Nagel DNA extraction kit. The 5’ region (658 bp) of the mtDNA COI gene was amplified using LCO1490 and HCO2980 primers (Folmer et al. 1994). PCR reaction conditions were as follows: initial denaturation at 95°C for 2 min, followed by 35 cycles of 94°C for 45 s, 40°C for 35 s and 72°C for 45 s and a final extension of 72°C for 7 min. Two μl of diluted (1/10) DNA extract was amplified with 23 μl of PCR mix (for a total volume of 25 μl), comprised of 8.5 μl of water, 1 μl of each primer (10 μM) and 12.5 μl of REDTaq ReadyMix PCR Reaction Mix. PCR products were sequenced using the Sanger DNA sequencing service of Macrogen. Sequences were then edited in Geneious 2021.1.1 and compared to the database of BOLD. A dataset was assembled including our sequenced barcode, a set of available barcode sequences within the genus Aphria and a closely-related species (outgroup). A Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic tree was built using RAxML 8.2.11 (Stamatakis 2014). The specimen was deposited in the collection of the Department of Animal Biology of the University of La Laguna (DZUL). Additionally, more specimens were photographed in their natural habitat using an Olympus E-M1MarkIII camera. Plants being pollinated were annotated, with botanical taxonomy following ‘Plants of the World Online’.

Taxon treatment

Aphria latifrons Villeneuve, 1908

Materials   Download as CSV 
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    Aphria latifrons Villeneuve, 1908
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Diagnosis

Specimens were identified as Aphria latifrons for having the following unique combination: yellow tegula, R4+5 bristles not reaching the intersection with R-M vein, CS4 shorter than CS6 (Fig. 1A and B).

Figure 1.  

Habitus, distribution and genetic data for Aphria latifrons. A Lateral view of living specimen of Aphria latifrons (photo: M. Pérez-Gil); B Lateral view of living specimen of Aphria latifrons (photo: M. Pérez-Gil); C Distribution maps of the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote showing the observed distribution of Aphria latifrons (red dots). The location of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote within the Canary Islands is marked with a red square in the inset; D Maximum-Likelihood tree of the genus Aphria. Countries are indicated after BOLD accession numbers. Red: specimen sequenced in this study.

Distribution

Tunisia, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia (Villeneuve 1907, Herting 1984, Tschorsnig 2001). Distribution within Fuerteventura and Lanzarote is presented in Fig. 1C.

Habitat

The localities of La Cantería, Órzola and Punta Prieta are composed by a halophilic and poorly nitrophilous vegetation, physiognomically characterised by the presence of Suaeda vera forming thickets with Frankenia capitata and Zygophyllum fontanesii. In Salinas de Janubio, there is present a chamaephytic community, growing in a highly saline disturbed littoral, characterised by two common species of halophilic environments, Zygophyllum fontanesii and Suaeda vermiculata. Las Laderas has a chamaephytic dwarf community formed by stunted chamaephytes growing on exposed windy and strongly grazed soils where Helianthemum canariense and Spergularia fimbriata are dominant. The remaining localities (Caldereta, Caleta de Famara and Barranco de La Espoleta) are composed by nitrophilous synanthropic shrubs dominated by Caroxylon vermiculatum, Suaeda vermiculata and Bassia tomentosa (del Arco Aguilar and Rodríguez Delgado 2018).

Genetic data

A 658-bp fragment was successfully amplified (BOLD accession code: INCSI001-23). The specimen shows an 8.66% of divergence (uncorrected p-distance) to specimens of Aphria ocypterata and Aphria longilingua, as well an 8.12-8.89% of divergence to specimens of Aphria longirostris (Fig. 1D).

Host

Hosts unknown. Probably Pyralidae, based on hosts of other species (Tschorsnig 2017).

Discussion

Within the genus Aphria, Aphria gracilis Mesnil, 1963, Aphria longirostris (Meigen, 1824) Aphria longilingua Villeneuve, 1907 and Aphria potans (Wiedemann, 1830) have a black tegula (Mesnil 1963, Cerretti 2010, Canadian National Collection 2023b). The Neartic species Aphria georgiana Townsend, 1908 and Aphria miranda Townsend, 1891 have a white tegula (Townsend 1891, Townsend 1908). Amongst the yellow-tegulae species, A. xiphias Pandellé, 1896 and A. rubida Mesnil, 1973 can be separated from A. latifrons by having R4+5 bristles that reach and exceed the intersection with the R-M vein (Cerretti 2010, Canadian National Collection 2023a). A. miranda Richter, 1978 can be separated from A. latifrons by having only two or three setae at the base of R4+5 (Richter 1978). The phylogenetic tree, based on a mitochondrial gene, placed A. latifrons as a basal clade compared to the remaining species (Fig. 1D), with a higher interspecific divergence (ca. 8%) compared to the one existing between the ocypterata-longilingua-longirostris clade (< 1% between A. ocypterata and A. longilingua, ca. 4% between A. longirostris and either A. ocypterata or A. longilingua). As robust inferences cannot yet be made due to an underrepresentation on public databases (only three species with sequences from a total of 10 valid species), further analyses including material from the remaining species will allow for a better understanding of the evolution of the genus.

This record of Aphria latifrons on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote is not only the first report of the genus for the Canary Islands, but also for any of the four Macaronesian archipelagos (Arechavaleta et al. 2005, Borges et al. 2008, Borges et al. 2010, Gobierno de Canarias 2023). Due to its Palaearctic distribution, there is no evidence for considering the recent discovery of this species as an introduction. Instead, a recent natural dispersion may have occurred. Due to its known disjunct distribution, it is probable that this species is more widespread throughout the western Palaearctic and the geographic distance may be shorter than the current known distribution [ca. 1100 km from Andalusia (Spain) and ca. 2000 km from Tunisia]. Although it has not been reported for Morocco (Kettani et al. 2022), their close distance to Tunisia and the fact that the first report for a species of Aphria was relatively recent (Ebejer et al. 2019), may be an indication of underestimated diversity. If the species is found in Morocco, which is relatively close to Fuerteventura (96 km), a natural colonisation from North Africa may be thus more plausible. Specimens have been found in the northern and south-western parts of Lanzarote, 50 km distant from each other, both in coastal and interior areas, suggesting that this species could be more widespread along the Island. The specimen from Fuerteventura is 40 km distant from the southernmost recorded point in Lanzarote. The vegetation units where specimens were found are characteristic for most areas of the southern area of Lanzarote, as well as coastal areas from eastern and central areas and practically throughout all the Island of Fuerteventura. More sampling effort might uncover additional unknown populations of the species.

The biology of this species is not well studied. A 5-year-research carried out at the South Tyrol (Italy) revealed that adults were active from late-spring to early-autumn (Ziegler and Tschorsnig 2016). However, in Lanzarote, individuals were found mainly in winter, with most specimens being observed in January. This difference could be driven by the flowering phenology of Lanzarote, being closely related to rainfall episodes occurring in late-winter. Regarding floral resources, in the South Tyrol, it has been observed feeding on Senecio inaequidens (Asteraceae) and Thymus praecox (Lamiaceae). In Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, it was observed feeding on six different plant species from the families Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Zygophyllaceae. To date, the hosts for A. latifrons are unknown. Other species of the genus Aphria are known to occur as parasites in moths of the genus Sciota Hulst, 1888 (Tschorsnig 2017). In the Canary Islands, the native non-endemic species Neurotomia coenulentella (Zeller, 1846) [=Sciota coenunlentella (Zeller, 1846)] inhabits only the Island of Fuerteventura (Arenberger 1999), with no further additional species of the genus being recorded. Further studies are needed to determine which is the host of A. latifrons on the Canary's Archipelago.

Acknowledgements

Fieldwork was supported under the project 'Desarrollo de un proyecto experimental de monitoreo y registro de información referente al estado de conservación de los hábitats de interés comunitario y los hábitats de especies de interés comunitario, con especial atención a la Red Natura 2000' (co-funded by the Operational Programme FEDER (2014-2020) and the Government of the Canary Islands, collection permit nº 2019/5566). Molecular analysis was supported by Spanish 'Agencia Estatal de Investigación' (project code PID2020-117758GA-I00, awarded to Carlos Ruiz). Daniel Suárez was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through an FPI PhD fellowship (PRE2018-083230). We are very grateful to Johan Verstraeten for allowing us to use his observation in Fuerteventura, as well to Rodrigo Dios for a tentative genus-level identification that led us to further investigation.

References

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