Green bottle flies (Calliphoridae, Luciliinae) of Ecuador: geographic distribution, checklist and DNA barcodes

Green bottle flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Luciliinae) comprise a diverse and cosmopolitan taxon, known from at least 1,500 species. They have become crucial elements in forensic investigations, as they spend part of their life cycle in decaying remains. Here, we review the distribution of eleven L...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Moreno, Emilia A., Amat, Eduardo, Meneses, Pablo E., Donoso, David A., Barragán, Álvaro R.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:Ecuador
Institución:Universidad Regional Amazónica
Repositorio:Repositorio Universidad Regional Amazónica
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec:RD_IKIAM/378
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2020.1804747
http://repositorio.ikiam.edu.ec/jspui/handle/RD_IKIAM/378
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Barcoding
Carcass Reduction
Diptera
Forensic Entomology
Legal Investigations
Descripción
Sumario:Green bottle flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Luciliinae) comprise a diverse and cosmopolitan taxon, known from at least 1,500 species. They have become crucial elements in forensic investigations, as they spend part of their life cycle in decaying remains. Here, we review the distribution of eleven Luciliinae species in Ecuador: the monotypic Blepharicnema and ten Lucilia species. We identified specimens using morphological characters. Additionally, we DNA barcoded 43 specimens from three species using 658bp segments of the standard Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gen. Molecular and morphological identifications presented high correspondence, suggesting COI barcodes are an efficient tool for the identification of these three green bottle flies species. Geographical records are biased towards the northern Andean region, particularly near to large urban settlements. We remark the value to applied forensic research of continuous sampling of necrophagous flies under a variety of habitats and crime conditions.