New species and other new records of the family Mycetophilidae (Insecta, Diptera) from Morocco.

Twelve species in nine genera of Mycetophilidae are newly recorded from Morocco and from North Africa. Five species are described as new to science: Rymosiaebejerisp. nov., Leiaarcanasp. nov., Megophthalmidiaamsemlilisp. nov., Mycomyamirasp. nov., and Phthiniasnibbypinsaesp. nov. Three species are newly recorded from Gibraltar.

Further interceptions of the Neotropical fungus gnat Sciophilafractinervis Edwards, 1940 (Diptera, Mycetophilidae) in Britain with comments and observations on its biology and spread.

From 2020 onwards, several specimens of the Neotropical fungus gnat Sciophilafractinervis (Edwards, 1940) have been intercepted by Fera Science Ltd. on or near plant material in the United Kingdom originating from nurseries and glasshouses at four separate locations: Preston, Lancashire; Chichester, West Sussex; East Riding of Yorkshire; and Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, as well as a single interception from the Netherlands. Gnat interceptions were associated with a wide range of plant species: Ficusbenjamina, Ficuselastica, Dracaenareflexavar.angustifolia, Origanumvulgare, Rosmarinusofficinalis, Thymusvulgaris, Impatienshawkeri (Impatiens New Guinea hybrids), Chrysanthemum, as well as Fragariavesca (var. Lusa). The species does not appear to be doing any damage to affected plants with growing conditions likely promoting multiplication under protection. The larvae likely feed on spores (generally saprophytic) adhering to webs they erect on the soil and around the base of plants with spores likely originating from the growing medium and plants. Their spread is likely facilitated by movement of the growing medium or plant material where pupae are suspended in the lower stem or leaf axils. An account of the various interceptions is provided, as well as images of the different life-stages with a brief discussion of Sciophilacincticornis Edwards, 1940, its relationship with Sciophilafractinervis and further evidence of instability in vein R2+3 in the Sciophila genus.

New faunistic records of the families Bolitophilidae and Keroplatidae (Diptera, Sciaroidea) from Morocco.

The family Bolitophilidae is recorded for the first time from Morocco with one species Bolitophila (Bolitophila) saundersii (Curtis, 1836). Ten new species are added to the Moroccan fauna of Keroplatidae, known until now by only two species, raising the number of species currently known in Morocco to 12.

New faunistic records of the family Mycetophilidae (Insecta, Diptera) from Morocco.

A total of 54 species of Mycetophilidae are recorded for the first time in Morocco, of which 38 species are new to North Africa. A first checklist of Moroccan Mycetophilidae is appended, containing 64 species in 25 genera.

Fauna europaea: Diptera - brachycera.

Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including important synonyms) of all extant multicellular European terrestrial and freshwater animals and their geographical distribution at the level of countries and major islands (east of the Urals and excluding the Caucasus region). The Fauna Europaea project comprises about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 accepted species and 14,000 accepted subspecies, which is much more than the originally projected number of 100,000 species. Fauna Europaea represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing taxonomic specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many user communities in science, government, industry, nature conservation and education. The Diptera-Brachycera is one of the 58 Fauna Europaea major taxonomic groups, and data have been compiled by a network of 55 specialists. Within the two-winged insects (Diptera), the Brachycera constitute a monophyletic group, which is generally given rank of suborder. The Brachycera may be classified into the probably paraphyletic 'lower brachyceran grade' and the monophyletic Eremoneura. The latter contains the Empidoidea, the Apystomyioidea with a single Nearctic species, and the Cyclorrhapha, which in turn is divided into the paraphyletic 'aschizan grade' and the monophyletic Schizophora. The latter is traditionally divided into the paraphyletic 'acalyptrate grade' and the monophyletic Calyptratae. Our knowledge of the European fauna of Diptera-Brachycera varies tremendously among families, from the reasonably well known hoverflies (Syrphidae) to the extremely poorly known scuttle flies (Phoridae). There has been a steady growth in our knowledge of European Diptera for the last two centuries, with no apparent slow down, but there is a shift towards a larger fraction of the new species being found among the families of the nematoceran grade (lower Diptera), which due to a larger number of small-sized species may be considered as taxonomically more challenging. Most of Europe is highly industrialised and has a high human population density, and the more fertile habitats are extensively cultivated. This has undoubtedly increased the extinction risk for numerous species of brachyceran flies, yet with the recent re-discovery of Thyreophoracynophila (Panzer), there are no known cases of extinction at a European level. However, few national Red Lists have extensive information on Diptera. For the Diptera-Brachycera, data from 96 families containing 11,751 species are included in this paper.