Christii fly

Christii fly
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Superorder:	Endopterygota
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Scatopsidae
Genus:	Ectaetia
Species:	E. christii
Binomial name
Ectaetia christii Rotheray & Horsfield, 1997

The Christii fly (Ectaetia christii) is a fly species 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. ^ ^{a b c} Ross, John (2006-06-13). "Welcome on the hillside for new fly". The Scotsman. http://heritage.scotsman.com/news.cfm?id=866822006. 
2. ^ "New species discovered in the Cairngorms". The Scotsman. 2006-06-12. http://heritage.scotsman.com/news.cfm?id=865222006. 
3. ^ Kemp, Tina (2006-06-23). "Family's pride as new fly is named after Iain". The Lennox. http://icdunbartonshire.icnetwork.co.uk/thelennox/news/tm_objectid=17280272&method=full&siteid=78846&headline=family--x2019-s-pride-as-new-fly-is-named-after-iain-name_page.html. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "New mountain species discovered". BBC News. 2006-06-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/5069508.stm. 
5. ^ Smith, Lewis (2006-06-13). "Ice Age fly discovered alive and well in Scotland". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2222410,00.html. 

External links

• Fauna Europaea – Taxon details
• Scottish Natural Heritage – Launch of The Nature of the Cairngorms