Olavi Kurina

• Ph.D.
• Professor at Estonian University of Life Sciences

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...

Two new Mycetophilidae species, Neuratelia jabalmoussae sp. n. and Neuratelia salmelai sp. n. are described on the basis of material collected from Lebanon, Estonia and Finland. Detailed figures of male terminalia and photographs of general facies are provided along with discussions of their morphological distinction from sibling species. For the f...

Making generalisations on trophic interactions is often limited because studies mostly focus on only a few target systems. Despite the important role of fungivores in forest ecosystems, the determinants of their communities are poorly known. This study examined, for the first time on the basis of quantitative data, the diversity of fungivorous inse...

The genus Manota is found to consist of 37 species in the South Pacific region. The following 13 species are described as new: M. acris sp. n. (Papua New Guinea (PNG)), M. alulata sp. n. (PNG), M. apentachaeta sp. n. (PNG), M. clivicola sp. n. (PNG), M. cordata sp. n. (PNG), M. feminea sp. n. (PNG), M. kaindiensis sp. n. (PNG), M. lunata sp. n. (PN...

A fundamental prerequisite for understanding and protecting biodiversity is the construction of a high-quality faunal database. The primary objective of this study was to address knowledge gaps in the biodiversity of the family Psychodidae in Estonia. Faunistic data on 45 species of moth flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Estonia are presented, incl...

Previous data on Estonian louse flies (Diptera, Hippoboscidae) are dispersed across various, mainly local scientific articles and popular science writings, making them inaccessible to a broader interna‑ tional audience. No comprehensive species list or reviews are currently available. This study consolidates data from published sources, insect coll...

We present records of 103 fly species from six families of Bibionomorpha (namely: Anisopodidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Diadocidiidae, Keroplatidae, and Mycetophilidae) collected by a single Malaise trap in an Eastern Slovakia locality during the vegetation period in 2023. Data on five species, viz., Mycomya (Neomycomya) fimbriata (Meigen, 181...

Four fungus gnat species – Macrocera crassicornis Winnertz, 1864, Macrorrhyncha flava Winnertz, 1846, Exechiopsis (E.) pseudindecisa Lastovka & Matile, 1974, and Myceto­phila rudis Winnertz, 1864 – are recorded from Luxembourg for the first time. The number of fungus gnat species in Luxembourg has risen to 80. Mycetophila rudis is documented for th...

Background Adult sciarid flies are small to medium-sized, delicate insects, typically black in colour and belonging to the superfamily Sciaroidea within the order Diptera. They exhibit a uniform appearance. Distinguishing them from other families of Sciaroidea is primarily achieved through their typical wing venation. Sciaridae are common in both n...

This paper attempts to fill the gaps in knowledge about the biodiversity of some winter-active fly families from snowfields and caves in Vârghiș, Romania. A total of 15 fly species were recorded from caves and 9 species from snowfields. Exechiopsis (Exechiopsis) pseudindecisa Lastovka & Matile, 1974 and Rymosia placida Winnertz, 1863 from caves and...

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different lev...

How the multiple facets of soil fungal diversity vary worldwide remains virtually unknown, hindering the management of this essential species-rich group. By sequencing high-resolution DNA markers in over 4000 topsoil samples from natural and human-altered ecosystems across all continents, we illustrate the distributions and drivers of different lev...

Industrial hemp cultivation restarted in Estonia in mid 2000s and the hemp cultivation area has increased very fast in recent years, but it is unknown to what extent hemp productivity can be curbed by widespread crop pests. Thus, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and damage of hemp pests in northern field conditions. A field t...

The identity and distribution of a neglected fungus gnat species, Rymosia tolleti Burghele-Balacesco, 1965, in Europe is reviewed based on examination of newly collected specimens as well as available museum materials. Rymosia tolleti is widespread but rather rare in Central Europe, with confirmed records from Romania, Slo-vakia, Germany, and Franc...

A synopsis of the fungus gnat (Diptera: Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) diversity in the Botanic Garden Jean Massart on Brussels outskirts is provided.

The superfamily Tipuloidea contains the following cranefly families: Cylindrotomidae, Limoniidae, Pediciidae and Tipulidae, with 1267 species known in Europe. Recent studies have increased our knowledge regarding these families substantially, but craneflies still represent an understudied group, even in Europe. A previous paper focused on European...

The small genus Coelophthinia Edwards, 1941 of the subfamily Gnoristinae (Diptera, Mycetophilidae) is so far known to harbour four species from the Palaearctic, Nearctic and Neotropical Regions. Extensive DNA barcoding of fungus gnats of the family Mycetophilidae through the International Barcode of Life project (iBOL) have initiated integrative st...

Abstract Fifteen new Zygomyia Winnertz species are described from material collected from one location in Ecuador during a very short time period: Z. acrotricha sp. nov., Z. comata sp. nov., Z. diversiseta sp. nov., Z. flamma sp. nov., Z. geniculata sp. nov., Z. longistyla sp. nov., Z. napoensis sp. nov., Z. paniculata sp. nov., Z. pectinella sp. n...

We celebrate Raymond J. Gagn for his contributions to taxonomy of the Mycetophilidae (Diptera), specifically for his forty-one-years-old monograph of Holarctic Trichonta Winnertz, 1864 that is still the primary source used for species identification in the genus. We briefly reflect on his monograph's impact and demonstrate by use of recent DNA barc...

Grassland breeding waders have been steadily declining across Europe. Recent studies indicating a dramatic decline in grassland invertebrates' abundance and biomass, the key food of most grassland wader chicks, suggest a likely driver of the demise of waders. While agricultural intensification is generally inferred as the main cause for arthropod d...

Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here we used high‐resolution sequencing to assess endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas...

Two new Phronia Winnertz, 1864 species-P. hannarostiae sp. nov. and P. ristoi sp. nov.-are described from Taita Hills in Kenya, representing the first named species of this genus in the African continent. The new species are morphologically similar to each other as well as to P. flobertae Matile-a species described from the Comoro Islands. These th...

Background This paper focuses on the morphological description and illustration of the wing pattern and genitalia structures of the known species of the genus Pljushtchia. The possibility of coevolution of Pljushtchia moths and fruit tree forests of Tien Shan is discussed. The maple tree is supposed to have evolved in the Ili River valley in NW Chi...

Fungi play pivotal roles in ecosystem functioning, but little is known about their global patterns of diversity, endemicity, vulnerability to global change drivers and conservation priority areas. We applied the high-resolution PacBio sequencing technique to identify fungi based on a long DNA marker that revealed a high proportion of hitherto unkno...

Female mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) affect their hosts in numerous negative ways and are crucial to the spread of vector-borne pathogens. It is, therefore, important to have a detailed overview of regional mosquitoes, to be able to detect changes in species diversity and identify possible health threats. The aim of this study was to update the c...

Fungi are highly important biotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, but we still have a very limited understanding about their diversity and distribution. This data article releases a global soil fungal dataset of the Global Soil Mycobiome consortium (GSMc) to boost further research in fungal diversity, biogeography and macroecology. The datase...

Simple Summary: A new fungus gnat species has been described from a single specimen collected from Georgia (Sakartvelo). The new species, named after its occurrence in Caucasia as Docosia caucasica sp. n., is distinguished from congeners by the characters in male terminalia and a unique COI sequence. As a substantial proportion of species in ecolog...

Mycetobia obscura Mamaev, 1968 and the subfamily Mycetobiinae (Diptera, Anisopodidae) are recorded from Esto-nia as well as from the Baltic States for the first time. The morphology and biology of the species is briefly discussed and detailed photographs of the general habitus of M. obscura and both the male and female terminalia are provided.

An overview of the Estonian terrestrial isopod fauna is given, based on literature data and material collected from 1984 to 2021. The identified material consisted of 10915 specimens belonging to 14 species and collected from 172 localities throughout Estonia. In combination with previous data from the literature data, there are now reliable record...

We present a summary and analysis of the Diptera-related information published in Zootaxa from 2001 to 2020, with a focus on taxonomic papers. Altogether, 2,527 papers on Diptera were published, including 2,032 taxonomic papers and 1,931 papers containing new nomenclatural acts, equivalent to 22% of all publications with new nomenclatural acts for...

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are universally recognized as troublesome pests and vectors of various pathogens and parasites. Understandably, the species makeup and diversity of individual populations depends on local and broad scale environmental trends, especially on temperature and hydrological variations. Anthropogenic landscapes make for uni...

The fungus gnats of Georgia are studied based on 2682 specimens collected from 57 localities during 2011–2019. Altogether, 245 species are recorded including four species of Bolitophilidae, three species of Diadocidiidae, two species of Ditomyiidae, 34 species of Keroplatidae and 202 species of Mycetophilidae. 230 and 188 species are recorded from...

The Neotropical species of the genus Manota Williston are studied, based on material of 146 specimens from French Guiana, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica and the Dominican Republic. Four new species are described, viz. M. corniculata sp. n. (French Guiana), M. pseudocavata sp. n. (French Guiana), M. truuverki sp. n. (French Guiana) and M. vladi sp. n....

Previously, two species of Zygentoma have been reported as synanthropic in Estonia ( Lepisma saccharinum Linnaeus, 1758 and Thermobia domestica (Packard, 1873)). Ctenolepisma longicaudatum Escherich, 1905 is an invasive species that is currently expanding its range in Europe, but had no published records from the northern Baltic Region. Ctenolepism...

A new phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed for the relationships among the species within the genus Docosia Winnertz, 1863, based on a combined analysis of five DNA markers (28S, ITS2, COI, COII and CytB). Five new species are described, Docosia anatolica Ševčík sp. nov. from Turkey, D. japonica Kurina sp. nov. from Japan, D. peloponnensis Ševčík sp...

Mycophagous gall midges from two Malaise trapping campaigns in Estonia were subjected to a morpho-taxonomic study, with the aim of identifying previously unrecorded species. Fifty-four species are shown for the first time to occur in Estonia, specifically 1 Lestremiinae, 21 Micromyinae, 5 Winnertziinae, and 27 Porricondylinae. This raises the numbe...

The composition of fungus gnats (Sciaroidea : Bolitophilidae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) in a village of Belgian Famenne have been studied based on material of 378 specimens. Altogether 69 species are recorded, viz. one species of Bolitophilidae, one species of Diadocidiidae, one species of Ditomyiidae, six species of...

Three new Clastobasis Skuse species are described: C. ainuorum sp. n. (Kuril Islands, Iturup), C. kanabo sp. n. (Japan, Honshū) and C. menguali sp. n. (Japan, Honshū). The new species are figured, photographed and their systematics discussed. New records are provided for C. loici Chandler and C. subalternans Zaitzev, both from Japan (Honshū). The n...

The Ochlerotatus (Oc.) communis complex consist of three Northern American species as well as a common Holarctic mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Oc. communis (De Geer, 1776). These sister species exhibit important ecological differences and are capable of transmitting various pathogens, but cannot always be differentiated by morphological traits. To...

We provide the first molecular phylogeny of Keroplatidae and Lygistorrhinidae, families of fungus gnats (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Sciaroidea). Phylogenies reconstructed by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian methods, based on four nuclear and four mitochondrial gene markers (5106 base pairs) sequenced for 75 genera and 105 species, show Keroplatidae as...

The genus Neocheiridium Beier, 1932 currently contains seven Neotropical (including Caribbean) and two Afrotropical species, with no Nearctic records. An undescribed species of Neocheiridium from South Carolina was discovered in the Ohio State University Acarology Collection and is described as Neocheiridium gullahorum , n. sp. (based on specimens...

In light of the African swine fever outbreaks in Estonian pig farms during the past few years, the question of the vector potential of Diptera in the pig farm environment has risen. However, the arthropod fauna of the pig farm environment is currently not well established. Hence, the aim of this study was to clarify the species diversity in pig far...

A comprehensive material of Afrotropical Sciophila including 262 male specimens of 15 species collected from 7 countries are studied. Two new species—S. geiri sp. n. and S. tchabalensis sp. n.—are described from Madagascar and Cameroon, respectively. New records of the following 13 species are presented: S. digitilenta Søli, 1997 (Uganda), S. fenes...

Background Deer keds are obligatory haematophagous parasites of large homeothermic animals, particularly cervids. Two of the five known species occurring in Europe—Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus) and L. fortisetosa Maa—are known to have a relatively wide distribution. Lipoptena fortisetosa is considered to have been introduced into Europe with sika deer...

Background: More than 80% of all animal species remain unknown to science. Most of these species live in the tropics and belong to animal taxa that combine small body size with high specimen abundance and large species richness. For such clades, using morphology for species discovery is slow because large numbers of specimens must be sorted based...

A total of 346 male specimens of Manota collected from 13 countries in Africa are studied. They belong to 40 different species including 12 new to science. The new species are: M. burundiensis (Burundi), M. cornuta (Ghana), M. fuscinula (Ghana), M. geniculata (Gabon), M. kirkspriggsi (Madagascar), M. kjaerandseni (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire), M. leptocha...

Background: Most animal species remain to be discovered. We recently proposed to tackle this problem using a reverse workflow where all specimens are barcoded via tagged amplicon sequencing and then sorted into putative species (mOTUs). We furthermore suggested that the COI barcodes can be obtained with minimal laboratory equipment using MinION seq...

Following examination of type material of Pherbellia shatalkini Rozkošný, two specimens of snail-killing flies (Sciomyzidae) from Mongolia that initially had been determined as an undescribed species were confirmed as P. shatalkini, the first documentation of this species from Mongolia. The male genitalia are illustrated and redescribed in great de...

Two new species, Manota williamsi sp. n. and Manota kerri sp. n., are described from Australia and Papua New Guinea, respectively. The former represents the second Manota species recorded from continental Australia. Characterised by setose anepisternum and non-setose laterotergite, M. williamsi is similar to M. gemella Hippa, 2007, but the presence...

A new fungus gnat species, Anaclileia adjarica sp. n. (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from Georgia is described, illustrated and discussed. The species represents the first record of the genus from Georgia as well as from whole Caucasus region. The new species is distinguished by the peculiar and unique structure of the male terminalia, especially that o...

The data on Estonian Myriapoda are scattered in various publications and there has been no overview of the fauna up to the present. A critical summary of the previous information on Estonian Myriapoda is given, supplemented by new records and distribution maps. Altogether, 5784 specimens from 276 collecting sites were studied. To the hitherto recor...

Full collecting details for one finding from each locality. The locality numbers correspond to those in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Questions Long‐term fragmentation and land use in Europe have created a landscape pattern where small forest patches are embedded among agricultural landscapes. These small forest patches can be one of the few habitats left to maintain the species richness and ecosystem functions within intensively managed agroecosystems. We ask, which factors dete...

A total of 286 male specimens of Manota from 38 different collecting sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest were analysed. They belong to 32 different species, including 20 described as new to science and 12 recognized as previously described species. The new species are M. abbreviata sp. n., M. atlantica sp. n., M. carioca sp. n., M. cavata sp. n....

Four new Manota species are described from the northern part of Sulawesi: M. ashleyi sp. nov., M. axillata sp. nov., M. loriculata sp. nov. and M. spathigera sp. nov. New records are given for the following species: M. dolichothrix Hippa & Ševčík, 2010 (South Sulawesi), M. horrida Hippa, 2006 (North Sulawesi), M. ovata Hippa, 2006 (North Sulawesi),...

Ditomyiamacroptera Winnertz, the rarest European ditomyiid fly, is known only by a few specimens across the collections. Besides a single male specimen from Sakhalin Island, all other documented records are from Central Europe. New records of Ditomyiamacroptera Winnertz from Bulgaria and France are presented representing the second rearing event af...

Although the Botanic Garden Jean Massart is just a tiny little spot of 5ha, a wedge of the old Sonian forest squeezed into the city of Brussels, it has a very rich fauna with numerous rare species. The order of the flies (Diptera) is probably the largest group of insects in Belgium with an estimated number at least 6,000 species. They thrive in a w...

Citation: Kurina O, Mantič M, Ševčík J (2017) A remarkable new genus of Keroplatidae (Insecta, Diptera) from the Afrotropical region, with DNA sequence data. African Invertebrates 58(1): 93–105. https://doi. Abstract A new genus and species of Keroplatidae—Kibaleana apicospinosa gen. & sp. n.—is described from Kibale National Park in Uganda. The ne...

The following five species are described as new: Manota clava sp. n. (Colombia), Manota multilobata sp. n. (Colombia), Manota perplexa sp. n. (Costa Rica), Manota setilobata sp. n. (Colombia) and Manota subaristata sp. n. (Colombia). In addition, new records for the following 11 species are presented: Manota acuminata Jaschhof & Hippa, 2005 (Costa...

A comprehensive study of material of the worldwide fungus gnat genus Manota Williston, sampled from the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in Peruvian Amazonia, was conducted. The following 16 species are described as new: M. aligera sp. n., M. aristoseta sp. n., M. calva sp. n., M. ciliata sp. n., M. exigua sp. n., M. digitata sp. n., M. flabella...

The species diversity of five fungus gnats’ families (Diptera: Sciaroidea: Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) are studied, based on material collected in the botanical garden Jean Massart on Brussels outskirts (Auderghem). The collecting was carried out by two Townes type Malaise traps during one year from May...

The current knowledge of pseudoscorpions in Estonia is summarized, based on specimens preserved in various Estonian collections and new material collected from 1993 to 2015. Altogether 474 studied specimens belonged to 14 species, including nine species recorded from Estonia for the first time. Supplemented by Apocheiridium rossicum, listed by lite...

Although the first unambiguous records of pseudoscorpions in Estonia date back to 1859, the group has been largely neglected, with only three further works ever since. The present study summarizes the current knowledge of pseudoscorpions in Estonia based on specimens preserved in various Estonian collections and new material collected from 1993 to...

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009;...

This plot is not part of the published stance but derives from it. The plot shows the number of authors by geographic region (courtesy of Dr. Diego Astua).

The degree of ecological specialization plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and functioning of communities. However, comparing specialization within and among groups of organisms is complicated due to methodological issues but also by conceptual and terminological inconsistencies. Environmental predictability has been considered a key det...

Three new species of Mycetophilidae – Cordyla monticola sp. n., Cordyla pseudopusilla sp. n. and Cordyla reducta sp. n. – are described from the Colombian Andes, representing the first described species of Cordyla Meigen from the Neotropical region. Colour photos of their habitus, wing and terminalia are provided. The morphological affinities of ma...

European species of the Mycetophila ruficollis group are compared on the basis of morphology and sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit one (COI) and the ITS2 region of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The study represents the first evaluation of morphology-based species delimitation of closely related fungus gnat species by applying molecular...