Wattia

Wattia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Tachinidae
Subfamily:	Tachininae
Tribe:	Neaerini
Genus:	Wattia Malloch, 1938[1]
Type species
Wattia ferruginea Malloch, 1938[1]

Wattia is a genus of flies in the family Tachinidae. 3 species have been described, W. ferruginea, W. petiolata and W. sessilis. The species, now extinct was discovered by John Russell Malloch in 1938. It is classified in the subfamily Tachininae and in the family Tachinidae. The genus was originally found in New Zealand.[2]

Species

• Wattia ferruginea Malloch, 1938[1]
• Wattia petiolata Malloch, 1938[1]
• Wattia sessilis Malloch, 1938[1]

Distribution

The genus use to roam New Zealand before its extinction, mostly forested areas and either lakes and either areas with food sources, like fruit and carcasses, mostly dead animal matter.

Diet

Like many other genuses in the family Tachinidae and Tachininae, it's diet mainly consisted of either nuts and fruit, and in large groups feeding on dead animal carcasses before the genus' extinction in New Zealand. It may have also eaten dead birds, also with females laying eggs on dead carcasses.

Characteristics

Like other fly genuses in the family Tachinidae and Tachininae, it may have been around the size of a house fly with male adults being larger than the female adults.

References

1. Malloch, J.R. (1938). "The calyptrate Diptera of New Zealand, Parts VIII and IX". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 68: 161–258.
2. O’Hara, James E.; Henderson, Shannon J.; Wood, D. Monty (5 March 2020). "Preliminary Checklist of the Tachinidae (Diptera) of the World" (PDF). Tachinidae Resources. Retrieved 1 July 2023.