Great-smoky-mountains
Guides
Anillinus langdoni
Anillinus langdoni is a small ground beetle in the tribe Bembidiini, described in 2004. It belongs to the A. langdoni species group, which includes four species with three endemic to the Great Smoky Mountains region. The species is distinguished from congeners primarily by male genitalia morphology and female spermathecal shape. Phylogeographic studies suggest its distribution reflects historical altitudinal shifts of habitat corridors and watershed-mediated isolation.
Attenella margarita
spiny crawler mayfly
Attenella margarita is a species of spiny crawler mayfly in the family Ephemerellidae. It exhibits a disjunct east-west distribution pattern across North America, which is rare among mayflies. The species has been documented from the southern half of Canada and the continental United States, with a southeastern range extension to North Carolina representing approximately 1,300 km beyond previously known western localities.
Dasycerus unicoi
Dasycerus unicoi is a species of rove beetle in the subfamily Dasycerinae, a small group of beetles characterized by their distinctive compact, rounded body form that differs markedly from the typically elongate shape of most staphylinids. The species epithet 'unicoi' references the Unicoi Mountains, part of the southern Appalachian range in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. This beetle is associated with high-elevation forest habitats in the Great Smoky Mountains region.
Neostenoptera
Neostenoptera is a genus of gall midges (Cecidomyiidae) established by Meunier in 1902. For over a century, the genus was known only from two African records: one species described from copal (young amber) and another collected alive in the Congo. The 2016 discovery of Neostenoptera appalachiensis in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, marked the first New World record of the genus, extending its known distribution to eastern North America. The genus belongs to the tribe Heteropezini within the subfamily Porricondylinae.
Neostenoptera appalachiensis
Appalachian gall midge
Neostenoptera appalachiensis is a gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) described in 2016 from specimens collected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. It represents the first record of the genus Neostenoptera in the New World; the genus was previously known only from African copal amber and a single living species from the Congo. The species name references the Appalachian Mountains, where the type series was collected.
Oxytorinae
Oxytorinae is a subfamily of ichneumonid wasps within the family Ichneumonidae. The genus Oxytorus, the primary representative of this subfamily in the New World, comprises 11 described species with distribution ranging from North America through Central America to South America. The subfamily was first recorded in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2024 through DNA barcoding of historical specimens, representing a significant range extension for the group. Species identification relies on morphological features of the thorax, wings, and antennae, with taxonomic reviews providing illustrated keys for New World species.