Mormotomyiidae | |
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A drawing of male specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Superfamily: | Ephydroidea |
Family: | Mormotomyiidae |
Genus: | Mormotomyia |
Species: | M. hirsuta |
Binomial name | |
Mormotomyia hirsuta Austen, 1936 | |
The family Mormotomyiidae (Diptera: Ephydroidea) contains only one known species, Mormotomyia hirsuta, commonly known as the frightful hairy fly [1] or terrible hairy fly, [2] [3] which is found in Kenya. The fly was first described by English entomologist Ernest Edward Austen, [4] and specimens have been collected from one location on a mountain in the Ukasi Hill (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 guano. Adult flies are believed to feed on bodily secretions of bats. The fly measures about 1 cm long, with hairy legs, and, due to its nonfunctional wings and tiny eyes, looks more like a spider than a fly. Specimens have been collected only three times, in 1933, 1948, and 2010. [5] [6] Tested members of the population showed higher levels of genetic variation than would be expected for such a restricted range, suggesting that additional undiscovered populations exist with gene flow occurring between them and the known population in Ukasi Hill. [7] [2]
While the fly was originally thought to belong in the superfamily Sphaeroceroidea, later authorities placed it in Hippoboscoidea, still later work suggested it belonged instead to the Carnoidea, but work in 2011 suggested that its true affiliation is to Ephydroidea. [1]
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The Alcathoe bat is a European bat in the genus Myotis. Known only from Greece and Hungary when it was first described in 2001, its known distribution has since expanded as far as Portugal, England, Sweden, and Russia. It is similar to the whiskered bat and other species and is difficult to distinguish from them. However, its brown fur is distinctive and it is clearly different in characters of its karyotype and DNA sequences. It is most closely related to Myotis hyrcanicus from Iran, but otherwise has no close relatives.
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Cicurina madla is a rare species of spider in the family Dictynidae known by the common name Madla Cave meshweaver. It is endemic to Texas, United States, where it is known to originate from only eight or nine caves in Bexar County. This is one of a small number of invertebrates endemic to the karst caves of Bexar County that were federally listed as endangered species in the year 2000. Another spider from the caves was described as Cicurina venii, and given the common name Braken Bat Cave meshweaver. In 2018, it was synonymized with C. madla.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Genbank common name: terrible hairy fly