New records and first DNA barcodes of Sciarosoma nigriclava (Strobl, 1898) (Diptera, Sciaroidea incertae sedis) from Norway

Abstract

New records of Sciarosoma nigriclava (Strobl, 1898) are presented from Engerdal in Hedmark and Gargialia outside Alta in Finnmark. This unique species, belonging to the enigmatic Heterotrichagroup still unplaced in family, has not been recorded in Norway since the genus and species was described under the name Sciarosoma borealis Chandler, 2002; at the time only a single male from Østmarka Nature Reserve in Akershus was reported. All four specimens of our new material were successfully DNA barcoded and aligned with a single additional sequence of the species available on The Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD), mined from GenBank. The assigned Barcode Index Number (BIN) for the species displays a considerable distance of some 15% to any other Diptera on BOLD, underscoring the isolated phylogenetic position of the species among the Sciaroidea. Both the new collecting sites are situated within or nearby old-growth pine and spruce forests, supporting the view that the species may serve as an indicator of pristine coniferous forest in the boreal Taiga.