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Tsetse fly

Tsetse fly
Tsetsemeyers1880.jpg
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
  • Morsitans ("savannah" subgenus)
  • Fusca ("forest" subgenus)
  • Palpalis ("riverine" subgenus)
Tsetse distribution.png
Range of the tsetse fly

Tsetse (/ˈstsi/ SEET-see, US /ˈtstsi/ 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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Wikipedia

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