Oxysarcodexia varia (Walker)

Dowton, Mark & Pape, Thomas, 2013, A key to the Australian Sarcophagidae (Diptera) with special emphasis on Sarcophaga (sensu lato), Zootaxa 3680 (1), pp. 148-189 : 155

Oxysarcodexia varia (Walker)

(Figure 13a,b,c)

Sarcophaga varia Walker, 1836

Sarcophaga milleri Johnston and Tiegs, 1922

Morphological characters. Ground colour black, with bright gold microtrichosity on the parafacials and frontoorbital plate, but silver microtrichosity on the occiput. Gena with setulae only black. Occiput with at least one row of black setulae behind the ocular setae, with setulae only yellow/white ventrally. Prescutellar acrostichal and apical scutellar setae absent or present. Proepisternum bare. Body length 5–10 mm.

Geographical distribution. Australia (Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria)— AUSTRALASIAN/OCEANIAN, NEOTROPICAL.

Biology. Oxysarcodexia varia has been collected from dung, decayed-carrion baits and carcasses ( Mulieri et al. 2008), and is also proposed to be linked to rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) in New Zealand ( Henning et al. 2005). It is one of the dominant flies on Lord Howe Island ( Ferrar et al. 1975).

Taxonomy. This is the only species of this genus known from Australia. DNA barcode sequences of O. varia have been deposited in both GenBank and the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD).