''Sarcophaga peregrina'' (synonym ''Boettcherisca peregrina'') is a species of flesh fly belonging to the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Sarcophagidae
Sarcophagidae () are a family (biology), family of fly, flies commonly known as flesh flies. They differ from most flies in that they are Ovoviviparity, ovoviviparous, opportunistically depositing hatched or hatching maggots instead of eggs on c ...
. They easily breed, multiply and spread in human habitation, from garbage, faeces and livestock manures. In many regions, they are health concerns as they are active
vectors of
infectious diseases
infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
such as
myiasis
Myiasis ( ), also known as flystrike or fly strike, is the parasitic infestation of the body of a live animal by fly larvae (maggots) that grow inside the host while feeding on its Biological tissue, tissue. Although flies are most commonly attr ...
in humans. Due to their close contact with human activities, they are considered as
forensically important insects. They can be used for molecular analysis of the time of
postmortem intervals. They are also occasionally parasitic in other invertebrates. They produce a group of antibacterial peptide called
sarcotoxin Sarcotoxins are a group of antibacterial peptides present in the flesh fly belonging to the genus '' Sarcophaga''. The proteins are present in the haemolymph of the flesh fly. The first protein, called sarcotoxin 1A, was discovered in 1983 from '' ...
s. The first of such protein, sarcotoxin 1A, was determined in 1983 by Masayuki Okada and Shunji Natori at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Distribution
''Sarcophaga peregrina'' has been reported in
Southeast Asian region from
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
and
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, and throughout
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
They are usually the most abundant fly in these regions as they rapidly breed in chicken manure, and also on foods and excrement around human habitations.
Description
''Sarcophaga peregrina'' looks like normal flies, and are often difficult to identify easily. The average body length is 8–11 mm. The body colour is grey with black markings. The lower part of the head is silver-grey. The thorax is entirely grey with a characteristic three black stripes, which is marked along the longitudinal body axis. The abdomen is also grey with black stripes; one longitudinal line in the middle and three big transverse lines across. The first of the abdominal stripe is somewhat V-shaped. The wings are transparent. An important microscopical diagnosis is the presence of 5-20 long slender hairs (absent in most species of flesh fly) on propleura - a deepset plate on the antero-lateral corner of the thorax adjacent to the lower part of the spiracle.
[ The larvae are characterised by having twelve segments, each with short spines at its posterior margin. The posterior end is broader and the anterior tapering with the anterior end having two oral hooks and mouth brushes.
]
Pathogenicity
''Sarcophaga peregrina'' easily breed and multiply where there are garbage (especially having meat), human and animal faeces, and fish baits. Thus their close human contact often results in their infection. They are known to deposit their larvae in the wounds and scratches on skin in humans. As such their larvae have been reported to cause oral and nasal myiasis.[ In 1987 a clinical case of first human intestinal myasis was reported from a Japanese patient. The live larvae were easily identified from the stool sample. They also infect some species of earthworm and locust.][
]
Application
''Sarcophaga peregrina'' will rapidly swarm corpse cadavers
A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue to repair a defect in a liv ...
, and for this reason they can be used as important indications of the postmortem interval in forensic investigations. Especially with molecular techniques, such as identifying cytochrome oxidase (COI) and 16S rDNA genes, they can be identified from other flies even when the corpse is infested with different species. Then the age of the flies can be specifically determined, using technique such as pteridine fluorescence, and this helps to establish the time of death.
References
External links
Cook Islands Biodiversity Database
Taxonomy at UniProt
Taxonomy at ZipcodeZoo
NCBI Taxonomy
Information at BOLDSYSTEMS
Animal Diversity Web
Classification at Encyclopedia of Life
Classification at India Biodiversity Portal
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14618303
Sarcophagidae
Insects described in 1830
Insect vectors of human pathogens
Insects of Indonesia
Forensic entomology