Species Information

Kingdom: Animalia
  Phylum: Arthropoda
    Class: Insecta
      Order: Diptera
        Family: Apioceridae
          Genus: Apiocera
            Species: hamata

Rio Grande Flower-loving Fly - Apiocera hamata

Rio Grande Flower-loving Fly

Image courtesy of Biota Information System of New Mexico

1383444

Species Extent (New Mexico)

Status

Global Rank: GNR

State Rank: S2

Rank Metadata
State Rank: S2 Rank Changed: 04/09/2025
Rank Reviewed: N/A
Reason: <em>Apiocera hamata</em> is found primarily in proximity to the Rio Grande River, along a 100 m stretch in the border region of southern New Mexico and West Texas, in the United States. It has not been recorded since 1983, though survey effort in the region is lacking. Based on known occurrences, the estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) could be as much as 40,941 km<sup>2</sup>, though one occurrence in eastern New Mexico may be outside of what is thought to be suitable habitat and therefore may not be valid. Therefore, the EOO could be as little as 16,596 km<sup>2</sup>. The Area of Occupancy (AOO) is current 11km2 using a 1km2 grid. While this is likely underestimated due to lack of survey effort, given the habitat specificity of the species, AOO is unlikely to be over 2,000 km<sup>2</sup>. The species may be found in nine or fewer occurrences, representing each of nine general collection localities. As there are no collection records in the last 40 years, however, there many be fewer than nine occurrences if the species is not extant across the historical range. The main threats are habitat instability, increased drought due to climate change, and off-road vehicle use which will likely impact each locality separately. There may also be as many as ten occurrences, if the record from eastern New Mexico turns out to be valid. Continuing decline in quality of habitat is also inferred based on the aforementioned threats. Therefore, this species is currently assessed as S2 in New Mexico. However, a reassessment should be done if more information becomes available.
 
Ecological Factors
Specificity: Unknown Range Extent: 20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Occurences: 6 - 20 Population Size: Unknown
Area of Occupancy: An Area of Occupancy of 11km2 was calculated with GeoCat using all known occurrence records however, there has been little sampling effort for this species. Threat Summary: N/A

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status:

SWAP Status:

NMRP Strategy Status:

Observations in Natural Heritage New Mexico Database

Number of Subpopulations: 8

Number of Mapped Locations: 44

Number of Observations: 7

Observation date range: 01-01-1979 to 01-01-1983


Species Related Publications

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