Mormotomyiidae
| Mormotomyia hirsuta | |
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| Family: | Mormotomyiidae
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| Genus: | Mormotomyia
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| Species: | M. hirsuta
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| Binomial name | |
| Mormotomyia hirsuta Austen, 1936
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The family Mormotomyiidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) contains only one known species, Mormotomyia hirsuta, commonly known as the Terrible Hairy Fly,[1] which is found in Kenya. The fly was first described by English entomologist Ernest Edward Austen, and specimens have been collected from one location on a mountain in the Okazzi Hills, in a cleft where a bat roost is located; this may possibly be the most restricted geographic distribution for any fly family. The larvae have been collected from bat feces. Adult flies are believed to feed on bodily secretions of bats. The fly measures about 1cm long, with hairy legs, and, due to its non-functional wings and tiny eyes, looks more like a spider than a fly.
References
- ^ "Bizarre hairy fly is rediscovered". BBC News. 8 December 2010.
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