Underexplored diversity in Palaearctic Miltogramma Meigen, 1803 (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

Abstract

Abstract Current knowledge of the global diversity of schizophoran flies, the megadiverse group that evolved during the episode of rapid dipteran radiations in the Early Cenozoic, is far from satisfactory. A significant part of this radiation is flesh flies (Sarcophagidae), which include about 3000 known species. Miltogramma Meigen, the largest genus of the flesh fly subfamily Miltogramminae, includes 119 known species with a peak of diversity in the Middle East and Central Asia. The taxonomy of the genus is acknowledged to be challenging, partly due to logistical issues associated with the deposition of type specimens in less accessible Russian institutions. Six new distinctive species of Miltogramma collected during recent expeditions to Iran and Uzbekistan are described using methods of integrative taxonomy: Miltogramma manouchehrii Szpila & Pape, sp. nov., M. mikolajczyki Szpila & Pape, sp. nov., M. rognesi Szpila & Pape, sp. nov., M. soszynskii Szpila & Pape, sp. nov., M. thompsoni Szpila & Pape, sp. nov., and M. vervesi Szpila & Pape, sp. nov. Flies are characterized by secondary sexual dimorphism expressed in the form of species-specific chaetotaxy of the male fore tarsus, a character related to courtship behaviour. The reconnaissance surveys to both of the mentioned countries performed in the last decade brought information about a large number of potential new species of Miltogramma, despite the taxonomic work performed in this area in the past. Describing the majority of them requires extensive revisionary work, which involves accessing the type specimens and applying modern methods of species delimitation.