Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-24
Page range: 183-192
Abstract views: 74
PDF downloaded: 3

A new species of Clastobasis Skuse (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from India with a world checklist

Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhawan; M Block; New Alipore; Kolkata 700053; West Bengal; India
Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhawan; M Block; New Alipore; Kolkata 700053; West Bengal; India
Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhawan; M Block; New Alipore; Kolkata 700053; West Bengal; India
Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhawan; M Block; New Alipore; Kolkata 700053; West Bengal; India
Zoological Survey of India; Prani Vigyan Bhawan; M Block; New Alipore; Kolkata 700053; West Bengal; India
Diptera Checklist DNa barcoding India Mycetophilidae New species

Abstract

Mycetophilidae (fungus gnats) are globally distributed insects, abundant in humid woodland habitats, yet their biology and systematics remain poorly studied in many regions. Although the life histories of many Palearctic and some Neotropical species are documented, knowledge of other tropical taxa, particularly in the Oriental region, remains fragmentary. The genus Clastobasis Skuse, 1890 currently comprises 30 extant species worldwide, but only ten are known from the Oriental region, with Indian records limited to the poorly preserved Brunetti types. In this study, we describe and illustrate a new species of Clastobasis from India, supported by COX1 sequence data, representing the first DNA barcode for the genus from the country and a global checklist is also presented. This work improves the taxonomic understanding of Clastobasis in the Oriental region and contributes to the broader systematics of Leiinae.

 

References

  1. Amaral, E. M., Falaschi, R. L., Almeida, M. C. de & Oliveira S. S. (2023): Neoempheria Osten Sacken (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from the Neotropical region: redescriptions of two species with complete life cycles. Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.), 59 (3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2023.2213676
  2. Amorim, D.D.S. & Rindal, E. (2007) Phylogeny of the Mycetophiliformia, with proposal of the subfamilies Heterotrichinae, Ohakuneinae, and Chiletrichinae for the Rangomaramidae (Diptera, Bibionomorpha). Zootaxa, 1535 (1), 1–92. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1535.1.1
  3. Amorim, D.D.S., Oliveira, S.S., Balbi, M.I.P.A., Ang, Y., Torres, A., Yeo, D., Srivathsan, A. & Meier, R. (2025) An integrative taxonomic treatment of the Mycetophilidae of Singapore reveals 115 new species from just 730 km2 (Diptera: Bibionomorpha). Integrative systematics, 8 (3), 1–318. https://doi.org/10.18476/2025.752376
  4. Banerjee, D., Naskar, A., Sengupta, J. & Suman, D.S. (2024) Fauna of India Checklist, Online Version 1.0. Arthropoda: Insecta: Diptera, Linnaeus, 1758. Zoological Survey India. Available from: https://zsi.gov.in/uploads/documents/checklist/english/111_Insecta_Diptera.pdf (accessed 20 January 2026)
  5. Brunetti, E. (1912) The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Diptera Nematocera (excluding Chironomidae and Culicidae). Taylor and Francis, London, 581 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.100757
  6. Chandler, P. (2001) Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Sciaroidea) New to Britain. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History, 13, 215–243.
  7. Chandler, P. (2013) Fauna Europaea: Mycetophilidae. In: Beuk, P. & Pape, T. (Eds.), Fauna Europaea: Diptera, Nematocera. Version 2.6. Available from: http://www.faunaeur.org (accessed 30 April 2020)
  8. Chandler, P.J. (2000) Fungus gnats (Diptera: Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae) from the Arabian Peninsula. Fauna of Arabia, 18, 273–284.
  9. Colless, D.H. (1966) Insects of Micronesia. Diptera: Mycetophilidae. Bernice P Bishop Museum, Honolulu, 667 pp.
  10. Colless, D.H. & Liepa, Z. (1973) Superfamily Mycetophiloidea. Family Mycetophilidae (Fungivoridae). In: Delfinado, M.D. & Hardy, D.E. (Eds.), A catalogue of the Diptera of the Oriental Region. Volume I. Suborder Nematocera. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, pp. 442–463.
  11. Edwards, F.W. (1925) XXII. British Fungus-Gnats (Diptera, Mycetophilidae). With a revised Generic Classification of the Family. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1924, 505–670. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1925.tb03369.x
  12. Edwards, F.W. (1924) New species of nematocerous Diptera from Fiji and Trinidad. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 9, 14 (83), 568–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222932408633160
  13. Enderlein, G. (1910) Diptera, Mycetophilidae. In: Reports of the Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905, Under the leadership of Mr. J. Stanley Gardner, M.A. Vol. III. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, Series 2, Zoology, XIV, pp. 59–81.
  14. Esin, M.N., Gavryushin, D.I. & Ruchin, A.B. (2025) List of fungus gnats (Diptera: Bolitophilidae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae and Mycetophilidae) of the Republic of Mordovia (Russia). Acta Biologica Sibirica, 11, 291–316.
  15. Evenhuis, N.L. & Pape, T. (2025) Systema Dipterorum. Version 6.2. Available from: http://diptera.org/ (accessed 20 January 2026)
  16. Folmer, O., Black, M., Lutz, R. & Vrijenhoek, R. (1994) DNA primers for amplification of mitochondrial Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I from diverse metazoan invertebrates. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology, 3 (5), 294–299.
  17. Ghosh, D., Kar, O., Pramanik, D., Mukherjee, A., Sarkar, S., Mukherjee, K., Naskar, A. & Banerjee, D. (2022) Molecular identification and characterization of Muscid flies (Diptera: Muscidae) of medico-veterinary importance from the Gangetic plains of Eastern India. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, 42 (6), 3759–3769. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-022-00900-9
  18. Gravenhorst, J.L.C. (1843) Vergleichende Zoologie. Graß, Barth & Comp., Breslau, xx + 687 pp., 12 foldouts. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.58729
  19. Hubenov, Z. (2021) Species composition and distribution of the dipterans (Insecta: Diptera) in Bulgaria. Pensoft Publishers, National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, 44 pp. https://doi.org/10.3897/ab.e68616
  20. Hutson, A.M., Ackland, D.M. & Kidd, L.N. (1980) Mycetophilidae (Bolitophilinae, Ditomyiinae, Diadocidiinae, Keroplatinae, Sciophilinae and Manotinae), Diptera, Nematocera. Royal Entomological Society of London, Handbooks for the Identifications of British Insects. Vol. IX. Part 3. Royal Entomological Society of London, London, 111 pp.
  21. Jakovlev, J. (2012) Fungal hosts of mycetophilids (Diptera: Sciaroidea excluding Sciaridae): a review. Mycology, 3, 11–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/21501203.2012.662533
  22. Kjærandsen, J. (2006) Review of fungus gnats of the genus Tarnania Tuomikoski, with a phylogeny of the Rymosia s.l. genus group (Diptera: Mycetophilidae). Insect Systematics & Evolution, 37, 121–148. https://doi.org/10.1163/187631206788831146
  23. Kolcsár, L.P. & Salmela, J. (2017) New taxonomic and faunistic records of fungus gnats (Insecta, Diptera) from Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia. Check List, 13 (5), 533–559. https://doi.org/10.15560/13.5.533
  24. Kurina, O. (2020) Three new species and new records of Clastobasis Skuse (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from Japan and the Kuril Islands. Zootaxa, 4810 (3), 589–600. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4810.3.13
  25. Kurina, O. & Grootaert, P. (2023) Fungus gnats in the Botanic Garden Jean Massart: an amazing diversity beyond the naked eye (Diptera: Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae). Belgian Journal of Entomology, 134, 39–66.
  26. Kurina, O. (2021) A contribution towards checklist of fungus gnats (Diptera, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Bolitophilidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) in Georgia, Transcaucasia. ZooKeys, 1026, 69–142. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1026.63749
  27. Linnaeus, C.V. (1758) Systema Naturae, per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Tomus I. Holmiae (Laurentii Salvii), Vindobonae [Vienna], 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542
  28. Matile, L. (1972) Diptères Mycetophilidae de l’Afrique orientale. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, 250, 1–6.
  29. Matile, L. (1979) Diptères Mycetophilidae de l’archipel des Comores. Mémoires du Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Série A, Zoologie, 109, 247–306.
  30. Matile, L. (1993) Diptères Mycetophiloidea de Nouvelle-Calédonie. 5. Mycetophilidae Leiinae et Manotinae. Mémoires du Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Série A, Zoologie, 157, 165–211.
  31. Newman, E. (1834) Attempted division of British insects into natural orders. Entomological Magazine, 2, 379–431.
  32. Oliveira, S.S. & Amorim, D.D.S. (2021) Phylogeny, Classification, Mesozoic Fossils, and Biogeography of the Leiinae (Diptera: Mycetophilidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 446, 1‒108. https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090.446.1.1
  33. Sasakawa, M. (2005) Fungus gnats, Lauxaniid and Agromyzid flies (Diptera) of the Imperial Palace, the Akasaka Imperial Gardens and Tokiwamatsu Imperial Villa, Tokyo. Memoirs of the National Science Museum Tokyo, 39, 273–312.
  34. Ševčík, J. (2010) Czech and Slovak Diptera associated with fungi. Slezské zemské muzeum, Opava, 112 pp.
  35. Ševčík, J. & Papp, L. (2002) Mycetophilidae (Diptera): additions and corrections to the “Checklist of the Diptera of Hungary”. Folia Entomologica Hungarica, 63, 149–156.
  36. Sivec, I. & Plassmann, E. (1982) Sechs neue Pilzmücken aus Sri Lanka (Diptera, Nematocera, Mycetophilidae). Spixiana, 5 (1), 7–13.
  37. Skuse, F.A.A. (1890) Diptera of Australia. Nematocera. Supplement II. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 2, 595–640. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.18657
  38. Søli, G.E.E. (1997) The adult morphology of Mycetophilidae (s. str.), with a tentative phylogeny of the family (Diptera, Sciaroidea). Entomologica Scandinavica Supplement, 50, 5–55.
  39. Søli, G.E.E. (2017) 20. Mycetophilidae (Fungus Gnats). In: Kirk-Spriggs, A.H. & Sinclair, B.J. (Eds.), Manual of Afrotropical Diptera. Sanbi Publishing, Pretoria, pp. 533–555.
  40. Väisänen, R. (1996) New Mycomya species from the Himalayas (Diptera, Mycetophilidae): 1. Subgenus Mycomya s. str. Entomologica Fennica, 7 (3), 99–132. https://doi.org/10.33338/ef.83899
  41. Winnertz, J. (1863) Beitrag zu einer Monographie der Pilzmticken. Verhandlung der Zoologischbota- nischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 13, 637–964. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9961
  42. Wirth, W.W. & Marston, N. (1968) A method for mounting small insects on microscope slides in Canada Balsam. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 61, 783–784. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.3.783
  43. Zaitzev, A.I. (1994) Fungus gnats of the fauna of Russia and adjacent regions. Part 1. Nauka, Moscow, 288 pp. [in Russian]
  44. Zaitzev, A.I. (2017) Two new species of fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from Kunashir Island, Kuril Islands. Zootaxa, 4250 (3), 296–300. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4250.3.6

How to Cite

Das, M., Mukherjee, B., Pramanik, D., Naskar, A. & Banerjee, D. (2026) A new species of Clastobasis Skuse (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) from India with a world checklist. Zootaxa, 5799 (1), 183–192. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5799.1.10