Tsetse flies
| Tsetse fly | |
|---|---|
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| Tsetse fly | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Suborder: | Brachycera |
| Subsection: | Calyptratae |
| Superfamily: | Hippoboscoidea |
| Family: |
Glossinidae Theobald, 1903 |
| Genus: |
Glossina Wiedemann, 1830 |
| Species groups | |
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| Range of the tsetse fly | |
Tsetse (/ˈsiːtsi/ SEET-see, US /ˈtsiːtsi/ TSEET-see or UK /ˈtsɛtsi/ TSET-see), sometimes spelled tzetze and also known as tik-tik flies, are large biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus Glossina, which are placed in their own family, Glossinidae. The tsetse are obligate parasites that live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals. They are economically important in sub-Saharan Africa as the biological vectors of trypanosomes, which cause human sleeping sickness and animal trypanosomiasis.
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