Christii fly
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Scatopsidae
Genus: Ectaetia
Species:
E. christii
Binomial name
Ectaetia christii
Rotheray & Horsfield, 1997

The Christii fly (Ectaetia christii) is a species of fly named after the late Iain Christie, a farmer and amateur entomologist from Dunbartonshire. It measures 2 mm (1⁄12 in) long and is black in colour.[1] Christii flies live under the bark of smaller branches or twigs of dead aspen trees.[2]

Discovery

Iain Christie originally discovered the Christii fly with several others in the late 1980s, but the fly was not recognised as a new species until 1997, during a survey of the flora and fauna of the Cairngorms.[3] The research was conducted for the book The Nature Of The Cairngorms, which includes 223 species mainly found there and 1,153 further species for which the Cairngorms are nationally noted.[1] Graham Rotheray of the Museum of Scotland and Dave Horsfield of Scottish Natural Heritage found the Christii fly under the bark of a decaying aspen tree near Grantown-on-Spey.[4] Since then, it has been found in Norway and two or three more times in the Cairngorms.[1]

Rotheray described the Christii fly as "a superb example of a boreal species which has lain undiscovered in Scotland for thousands of years" and "a specialist species which adapted and probably came north with the retreat of the ice".[4] He also believed the fly to be a relict from the ice age.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ross, John (2006-06-13). "Welcome on the hillside for new fly". The Scotsman.
  2. ↑ "New species discovered in the Cairngorms". The Scotsman. 2006-06-12.
  3. ↑ Kemp, Tina (2006-06-23). "Family's pride as new fly is named after Iain". The Lennox.
  4. 1 2 "New mountain species discovered". BBC News. 2006-06-12.
  5. ↑ Smith, Lewis (2006-06-13). "Ice Age fly discovered alive and well in Scotland". The Times. London.
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