Short Communication |
Corresponding author: Jean-Paul Haenni ( jean-paul.haenni@unine.ch ) Academic editor: Patrick Rohner
© 2021 Jean-Paul Haenni, Lucia Pollini Paltrinieri.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Haenni J-p, Pollini Paltrinieri L (2021) First report of Cooka incisa (Beekey, 1937) from Europe (Diptera, Scatopsidae). Alpine Entomology 5: 1-4. https://doi.org/10.3897/alpento.5.60974
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Cooka incisa (Cook, 1956) is recorded from several wooded localities in southern Switzerland (canton of Ticino). This is the first European record of this species, as well as the first record of the otherwise Nearctic genus Cooka Amorim, 2007 in the Palaearctic region as a whole. The possibility of an accidental introduction of C. incisa in Europe is discussed.
Scatopsidae, faunistics, Palaearctic, Nearctic, Switzerland
In 2015–16 an extensive faunistic survey employing different trapping methods was conducted in the area initially proposed for the Swiss National Park of Locarnese, near Locarno (Ticino, southern Switzerland). Among the many Diptera found, midges of the family Scatopsidae were caught in significant numbers, revealing the presence of several interesting species, some of them still under study (Haenni and Pollini in prep.). The unexpected discovery among this material of a Nearctic species never before recorded in Europe is presented here.
The samples were collected by Lucia Pollini (LP) and †Michele Abderhalden during a 2015–16 faunistic survey in the area of the planned Swiss National Park of Locarnese, using Malaise traps, aerial Malaise traps (SLAM traps) and three slightly different beer/wine traps. This material, sorted by LP, is preserved in 70% alcohol in the collection of the Museo cantonale di storia naturale in Lugano (MSNL) and was identified by Jean-Paul Haenni (JPH).
Additional specimens of C. incisa were discovered in material sent for identification to JPH by Gerhard Bächli (Dietikon) and preserved in his collection (CGB) (now partly in the collection of the Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Neuchâtel (
Rhexoza incisa Cook, 1956: Ann. Ent. Soc. Am. 49: 6, figs 2A, 2G, 3B.
Cook in Stone & al., 1965: Cat. Dipt. N. Amer.: 240.
Cook, 1975: Pan-Pac. Entomol. 51: 66, figs 13, 24–25.
Cook, 1981: Manual of Nearctic Diptera 1: 315, figs 20–22.
Cooka incisa
(Cook, 1956):
(12♂♂, 4♀♀). Switzerland, TI: Bolle di Magadino, [Gordola, Reviscài], 199 m, 710.121/114.037 [46°10'07.685"N, 8°51'52.248"E], forest, mid June-end July 2000, 1♂; same locality but mid June-end July 2001, 3♂♂ 1♀; same locality but mid June-end July 2004, 2♂♂; same locality but mid June-end July 2005, 2♂♂, all P. Duelli leg., CGB,
Body, elongate (Fig.
The Swiss material perfectly agrees with the description and figures of North American specimens of this species, especially regarding the very characteristic shape of the male genital capsule (Cook, 1981: fig. 20.22, and present paper, Fig.
Cooka incisa was described by
“The larvae of this species have been collected from beneath the bark of dead American elm [Ulmus americana], box elder [Acer negundo] and cottonwood [Populus spp.] trees” in the USA (
The genus Cooka Amorim, 2007 (with Scatopse similis Beekey, 1938 as type-species) is one of the most derived genera of the Swammerdamellini, as well as of the subfamily Scatopsinae as a whole. It was erected by
Although one of the richest in Europe, the fauna of Scatopsidae of Switzerland still remains incompletely known, as shown by the discovery of Cooka incisa presented here, regardless of an indigenous or alien origin of this species. This demonstrates the importance of including poorly documented taxonomic groups in regional or national faunistic surveys of biodiversity.
The first author thanks very gratefully Gerhard Bächli, Dietikon (Switzerland), for sending for study the rich material of Scatopsidae of his collection. Many thanks to Jessica Litman for kindly checking the English language.