Koolau Spur-winged Long-legged Fly (Campsicnemus mirabilis)  

The Koolau Spur-winged Long-legged Fly was described in 1902 based on several specimens that had been collected in 1900. It is one of about nine species of Hawaiian long-legged flies with absent or reduced wings, some of which were placed in a distinct genus, Emperoptera, but were later assigned to the genus Campsicnemus. [2]  

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The Koolau Spur-winged Long-legged Fly was endemic to an area at Mt. Tantalus n the Ko’olau Mountains of O’ahu, where it inhabited leaf litter on the forest floor.  

The species reached a size of only about 0,15 to 0,18 cm, the wings were extremely reduced to merely just the costal vein and bore black seta on their apex. [1]  

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Big-headed Ants (Pheidole megacephala Fabricius), which were accidentally introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century, are accountable for the extinction of this species, as well as for the extinction of many additional endemic insect species. [1]  

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The only proof for the former existence of this species are three very poorly preserved specimens that are kept in the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Hawai’i’s capital, Honolulu. [1]  

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References:  

[1] Neal L. Evenhuis: Review of flightless Dolichopodidae (Diptera) in the Hawaiian Islands. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 53: 1-29. 1997 
[2] Neal L. Evenhuis: Morphological and molecular evidence support the synonymy of Emperoptera Grimshaw with Campsicnemus Haliday (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Records of the Hawaii Biological Suvery for 2008. Edited by Neal L. Evenhuis & Lucius G. Eldredge. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 108: 35-44. 2010  

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edited: 02.04.2018