Gyrostigma rhinocerontis

Gyrostigma rhinocerontis
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Oestridae
Genus: Gyrostigma
Species:
G. rhinocerontis
Binomial name
Gyrostigma rhinocerontis
(Owen, 1830)

Gyrostigma rhinocerontis (also known as the Rhinoceros stomach botfly) is the largest fly species known in Africa. It is a parasite of the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros.

Because the fly depends on the rhinoceros for reproduction, its numbers declined steeply as the black and white rhinos faced extinction. Like the rhinoceros, it was presumably once widespread across much of sub-Saharan Africa (outside of the Congo Basin), but is today restricted to the savannas of southern and eastern Africa.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.