Adrian Pont

• D.Sc.
• Honorary Associate at University of Oxford

The diverse pressures of climate change have influenced many habitats, especially freshwater ones, due to their greater sensitivity to stressors. Aquatic Diptera make up more than 50% off all aquatic insect species described, which makes them an ideal group to monitor changing climate as their diverse assemblages can reflect functions within the en...

A report is given on two collections of Muscidae (Diptera) from Georgia, made around the village of Kazbegi (now Stepantsminda) in 1983 and on Mount Kudigora (Lagodekhi Reserve) in 2014. A total of 66 species are newly recorded from Georgia, and a checklist of the 156 species now known from Georgia is given. 2 Канадская национальная коллекция насек...

During the 38th meeting of the German Diptera Study Group (AK Diptera) from June 16th to 18th, 2023, Diptera were recorded at three locations in the Solling-Vogler Nature Park (Lower Saxony). A total of 463 species from 62 families were collected. Of these, 78 species (17 %) are first records for Lower Saxony

The discovery of the muscid fly Coenosia acuminata Strobl, 1898 from the slopes of Cairn Gorm in Scotland resulted in a reappraisal of all British specimens of C. pulicaria (Zetterstedt, 1845) at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH), the Natural History Museum, London (BMNH) and the National Museums of Scotland, West Granton (NMS...

We present a review and taxonomic update of the Macaronesian species of the muscid genera Phaonia and Muscina. As a preamble we argue that Phaonia tuguriorum (Scopoli) should be considered as a senior synonym of P. scutellata (Zetterstedt) (syn. nov.) and that the name P. signata (Meigen) (sp. rev.) is reestablished as the valid name for P. tugurio...

A key is given to Spilogona dispar (Fallén, 1823) and three related Palaearctic species. Spilogona paradispar sp. nov. is described as a new species from Armenia and Georgia. New distribution records are given for Spilogona taeniata (Stein, 1916).

G H Verrall and his nephew J E Collin dominated the study of British Diptera (two-winged flies) for a century, and formed what is probably the finest collection of Diptera ever to have been in private hands - it contains a more complete representation of British flies than does the Natural History Museum in London. The collection, now in the Oxford...

The male, female, egg, third instar larva, and puparium of Atherigona (Acritochaeta) culicivora, new species, are described from Peninsular Malaysia and northern Thailand. The saprophagous larvae of A. culicivora develop in water-filled stumps of freshly cut young bamboo shoots. They are subaquatic facultative predators of mosquito larvae, which is...

The muscid genus Drymeia Meigen, 1826 in Kyrgyzstan has been studied. One new species is described: Drymeia ziegleri sp. nov. An annotated checklist and keys for each sex of the six named species of Kyrgyzstan Drymeia are provided. Five species are newly recorded from Kyrgyzstan. An image of the new species is given.

The genus Drymeia Meigen, 1826 in the Caucasus Mountains is reviewed. A key is given for the six species, two of which are newly described: Drymeia fratercula sp. nov. and Drymeia sororcula sp. nov. The holotype of Aspilia glacialis Rondani, 1866 has been studied and this name is an older name for Drymeia alpicola (Rondani, 1871).

The faunistic knowledge of the Diptera of Morocco recorded from 1787 to 2021 is summarized and updated in this first catalogue of Moroccan Diptera species. A total of 3057 species, classified into 948 genera and 93 families (21 Nematocera and 72 Brachycera), are listed. Taxa (superfamily, family, genus and species) have been updated according to cu...

During the annual meeting of the Diptera Working Group (AK Diptera) from 31 May to 2 June 2019, Diptera (two-winged flies) were collected at several localities in and around Tuttlingen-Möhringen, Germany (federal state of Baden-Württemberg). A total of 218 Diptera species from 34 families were recorded from three selected and two nearby localities...

Plants acting as ecosystem engineers create habitats and facilitate biodiversity maintenance within plant communities. Furthermore, biodiversity research has demonstrated that plant diversity enhances the productivity and functioning of ecosystems. However, these two fields of research developed in parallel and independent from one another, with th...

The family Calliphoridae is a group of heterogenous calyptrate flies with a worldwide distribution including species of ecological, veterinary, medical, and forensic importance. Notorious for their parasitic habits, the larvae of many blowflies are characterised – like some other dipteran larvae – by their ability to develop in animal flesh. When p...

The family Calliphoridae is a group of heterogenous calyptrate flies with a worldwide distribution including species of ecological, veterinary, medical, and forensic importance. Notorious for their parasitic habits, the larvae of many blowflies are characterised-like some other dipteran larvae-by their ability to develop in animal flesh. When paras...

Facilitation by nurse plants increases understorey diversity and supports ecological communities. In turn, biodiversity shapes ecological networks and enhances ecosystem functioning. However, whether and how facilitation and increased biodiversity jointly influence community structure and ecosystem functioning remains unclear. We performed a field...

Plants acting as ecosystem engineers create habitats and facilitate biodiversity maintenance within plant communities. Furthermore, biodiversity research has demonstrated that plant diversity enhances the productivity and functioning of ecosystems. However, these two fields of research developed in parallel and independent from one another, with th...

During the 35th meeting of the German Diptera working group (AK DIPTE RA) from June 8th to 10th, 2018, Diptera were recorded at three locations in the Biosphere Reserve ‘Niedersächsische Elbtalaue’ and in the surroundings of the Youth Hostel Hitzacker. A total of 383 species from 47 families were collected. Of these, 47 species (12 %) are first rec...

An identification key to the seven known Iranian species of the genus Coenosia Meigen, 1826 is given, including Coenosia persica Pont & Parchami-Araghi, sp. nov. as well as the newly recorded C. humilis Meigen, 1826, C. nigridigita Rondani, 1866 and C. testacea (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830). Photographs of the habitus and male genitalia of the studied...

The type specimens of 153 species of Limnophorini in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany, were revised. Differential diagnoses, notes on the types, and photographs of some of them (habitus and labels) are provided.

1. Facilitation by legume nurse plants increase understorey diversity and support diverse ecological communities. In turn, biodiversity shapes ecological networks and supports ecosystem functioning. However, whether and how facilitation and increased biodiversity jointly influence community structure and ecosystem functioning remains unclear. 2. We...

The genus Haematobosca Bezzi, 1907 (Diptera: Muscidae) contains haematophagous flies of veterinary importance. A new fly species of this genus was recognised from northern Thailand based on morphological characters and described as Haematobosca aberrans Pont, Duvallet & Changbunjong, 2020. In the present study, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidas...

The Museum für Naturkunde of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin houses one of the most important and extensive collections of Muscidae (Diptera) in Europe as it includes more than 700 species described by Paul Stein and many others described by two other European dipterists, F. H. Loew and T. Becker. The relevance of the collection is even greater...

A new species of biting-fly from northern Thailand is described as Haematobosca aberrans sp. nov. (Muscidae). It differs from all known species of Haematobosca by the absence of the anterior katepisternal seta.

Studies on aquatic Diptera in the Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia) conducted in the last 50 years have produced 157 species and 7 taxa of aquatic Diptera placed in 13 families. Samples were collected at 25 sampling sites representing the four main types of karst aquatic habitats: spring, stream, tufa barriers and lakes. All records of all the...

Atherigona orientalis Schiner, 1868, and Synthesiomyia nudiseta (van der Wulp, 1883) are recorded from southeast Spain, attracted to a carrion bait trap. The record of A. orientalis Schiner is the first occurrence of this species from the European mainland.

The 39 Australian species of the genus Lispe Latreille are revised, including 22 new species here described. A key to species is given, and descriptions of both sexes are provided, including the male and female terminalia. Illustrations of external characters and of the male and female terminalia are given, including habitus photographs of the new...

Plants grow in communities where they interact with other plants and with other living organisms such as pollinators. On the one hand, studies of plant–plant interactions rarely consider how plants interact with other trophic levels such as pollinators. On the other, studies of plant–animal interactions rarely deal with interactions within trophic...

A report is given on the Muscidae (Diptera) collected in Armenia during recent fieldwork. Locality data, Armenian distribution and general distribution are given for each species, including references to previously published records. 181 named species are listed, of which 93 are newly recorded from Armenia, and 15 are endemic (8%). Two new species...

The faunistic knowledge of the Diptera of Morocco recorded from 1787 to 2021 is summarized and updated in this first catalogue of Moroccan Diptera species. A total of 3057 species, classified into 948 genera and 93 families (21 Nematocera and 72 Brachycera), are listed. Taxa (superfamily, family, genus and species) have been updated according to cu...

The morphology of the male terminalia of fourteen African species of Helina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera, Muscidae) is described and illustrated: H. dorsalis (Stein, 1914); H. emdeni Pont, 1980, H. fuscibasis Emden, 1951; H. gracilior Emden, 1951; H. hirtipes metatarsalis Emden, 1951, H. juxtamedialis Emden, 1951; H. lasiopa Emden, 1951; H. mol...

La mosca tigra, Coenosia attenuata Stein, 1903 es un importante depredador de insectos pequeños como moscas blancas, moscas del mantillo, minadores, y otros pequeños hemípteros y lepidópteros. El objetivo de esta investigación es reportar la presencia de esta especie por primera vez en Venezuela, donde ha sido observada en casas de cultivo ubicadas...

Significance Although it is known that plant–plant and plant–pollinator interactions can strongly influence biodiversity and its effects on ecosystem functioning, the details of how competition and facili-tation among plants scale up to mutualistic interactions with pollinators and thus affect pollina-tion networks are poorly understood. We introdu...

Spilogona breviaristata sp. nov. from South Africa is described and the morphology of the male terminalia of seven African Spilogona Schnabl (Diptera, Muscidae) species are described and illustrated: Spilogona biguttata Emden, Spilogona fuscotriangulata Emden, Spilogona natalensis Zielke, Spilogona pertinisetodes Emden, Spilogona quasifasciata Emde...

All the Afrotopical Limnophora Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Muscidae) deposited in the Natural History Museum, London (United Kingdom) were analyzed, including the types of the species described by Emden, mainly from the British Museum (Natural History) Ruwenzori Expedition of 1934–1935. Diagnoses and notes on all the species recorded from the Afrot...

The Diptera genus-group names of Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart are reviewed and annotated. A total of 399 available genus-group names in 69 families of Diptera are listed alphabetically, for each name giving author, year and page of original publication, originally included species, type species and method of fixation, current status of the name, fa...

The subgenera Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 and Parapyrellia Townsend, 1915 of Morellia (Diptera, Muscidae) are revised. Forty-two species of the subgenus Morellia (out of 50) and seven of the subgenus Parapyrellia (all species) are redescribed and illustrated, and 48 species are keyed (41 spp. of Morellia and 7 spp. of Parapyrellia). Morellia (...

All the species of Coenosia Meigen (Diptera, Muscidae) described by Fritz van Emden from the British Museum (Natural History) Ruwenzori Expedition of 1934-1935 (Emden 1940), supplemented by species from the Entomological Expedi- Tion to Abyssinia of 1926-1927 (Emden 1941), were studied, a total of 51 species. All types are deposited in the Natural...

Recently a new species of bombyliid fly, Marleyimyia xylocopae, was described by Marshall & Evenhuis (2015) based on two photographs taken during fieldwork in the Republic of South Africa. This species has no preserved holotype. The paper generated some buzz, especially among dipterists, because in most cases photographs taken in the field provide...

The study of unidentified material from Angola (Africa), deposited in the collection of the Natural History Museum, Lon-don, United Kingdom, has revealed three new Coenosia species: Coenosia lucens sp. nov., Coenosia flavohumeralis sp. nov. and Coenosia setosa sp. nov., and five new records: Coenosia macrochaeta (Emden, 1940), Coenosia nodosa Stein...

The study of Afrotropical Muscidae deposited in the Natural History Museum (BMNH), London, United Kingdom, revealed four new species of Helina Robineau-Desvoidy, herein described and illustrated. Helina duocolorata sp. nov. is described from Kenya, Helina longicerca sp. nov. and Helina sexnotata sp. nov. from Nigeria, and Helina mediomaculata sp. n...

A key is provided to the 26 species of the genus Drymeia Meigen, 1826 known from Russia and four additional species that may be found in Russia (D. brumalis (Rondani, 1866), D. cantabrigensis (Huckett, 1965), D. gymnophthalma (Hennig, 1963), D. similis (Malloch, 1918)). The key includes the 10 new species here described from the mountains of South...

A new species, Fannia caucasica sp. nov., is described from localities in Georgia and Armenia between 1600 and 2200 m. In addition, previous literature on the genus Fannia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 in the Caucasus Mountains is reviewed, and records are given for 15 species from Armenia and Georgia, of which nine are new records for Armenia and seven...

The Diptera genus-group names of Charles Henry Tyler Townsend are reviewed and annotated. A total of 1506 available genus-group names in 12 families of Diptera are listed alphabetically for each name, giving author, year and page of original publication, originally included species, type species and method of fixation, current status of the name, f...

New records are provided for Muscidae from four different Mediterranean countries, with new distribution records for species in ten different genera. Seven species are newly recorded for Croatia, four species for Montenegro and one species for Bosnia & Herzegovina. In this paper we give the first confirmation of an aquatic larval stage for Lispocep...

Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including important synonyms) of all extant multicellular European terrestrial and freshwater animals and their geographical distribution at the level of countries and major islands (east of the Urals and excluding the Caucasus region). The Fauna Europaea project compri...

FaEu Diptera-Brachycera stats

Vera Andreevna Richter short obituary

Fauna Europaea Guidelines for Group Coordinators and Taxonomic Specialists

The study of recently collected Afrotropical Muscidae (Diptera) from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and South Africa has revealed ten new species which are described herein: Coenosia duomaculata sp. nov., C. nigromaculata sp. nov., C. fragilis sp. nov., Helina harrisorum sp. nov., H. ferfriniorum sp. nov., Hydrotaea tantula sp. no...

One of the most important journeys of exploration to Arctic Russia was the so-called 1909 Kara Expedition, to the polar area north of the Ural Mountains. Among the scientific papers resulting from this expedition, that on the Diptera gives only the vaguest locality data, such as ‘Kara tundra’ or ‘polar Urals’, with a date. From the separately publi...

A re-description is given of the problematic genus and species Scatocoenosia cordyluraeformis Schnabl, 1915. Illustrations of the male and female terminalia, and images of the female holotype and the male of this species, are given. The syno-nymy of Scatocoenosia Schnabl, 1915 with Spilogona Schnabl, 1911 is confirmed, and notes are given on the re...

AbstractThe monotypic genera Paleotachina Townsend, 1921 and Electrotachina Townsend, 1938 were originally described as fossils in amber but were later discovered to be inclusions in copal. Both taxa were originally assigned to the Tachinidae (Diptera) and this placement has continued to the present day. The holotypes of the two type species, P. sm...