Phoridae - Undescribed species
Fig. 1
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Family Phoridae
Undescribed species Size: 1.06 mm Group Guild Status Eutroglophile? Symbiont? Rare This species is currently known from a single specimen (Fig. 1) sampled on April 19, 2023. The animal was found walking on a wet stalagmite in Main Corridor. The wings of the female are mere rudiments and thus the animal is flightless. It is possible (likely) that males of the species are winged. Scuttle fly species with greatly reduced wings in the female are often symbionts in colonies of social insects such as ants or termites. Termites are not a regular element of the ecology of Kartchner Caverns, but the New World army and Neivamyrmex graciellae is sporadically observed to be active in the cave. It is possible this fly is associated with the ants, but there were no ants found in proximity to the fly when it was found. These flies typically trail army ant colonies when the ants are in their nomadic phase. There may be a different ecological association, possibly with the bat guano deposits in the cave, where the fly larvae might be predatory, parasitic, or saprophagous. However, extensive sampling of the bat guano deposits over time have so far not revealed the presence of this species. The animal is just over one millimeter in length, and is somewhat smaller than most scuttle fly species. We suspect the flies are rare in the cave. This fly is the 103rd invertebrate species known to be an element of the ecology of Kartchner Caverns. |
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