Tsetse fly

Tsetse are large biting flies from Africa which live by feeding on the blood of vertebrate animals. Tsetse include all the species in the genus Glossina, which are generally placed in their own family Glossinidae and which belong to the order Diptera. The genus name is attributed to Wiedemann, who named the type species Glossina longipalpis in 1830.

Related Topics:
Flies - Africa - Blood - Vertebrate - Genus - Diptera - Wiedemann - Type species - 1830

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Tsetse have been extensively studied because they are biological vectors of the African trypanosomiases, deadly diseases which include sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle.

Related Topics:
Biological vectors - Trypanosomiases - Disease - Sleeping sickness - Cattle

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• morsitans ('savannah' species)
• fusca ('forest' species)
• palpalis ('riverine' species)

The word 'tsetse' comes from Tswana, a language of southern Africa, and, in that language, the word means fly{{ref|cole:1995}}. Because of this meaning, the phrase 'tsetse fly' is redundant so general recent usage has been to drop the 'fly' and simply call these organisms 'tsetse'. The pronunuciation of the word differs in different regions. Many African languages have an ejective ts sound and so a common pronunciation of the word involves two identical syllables both having this ts sound and a shorter sound of the vowel, as ts-eh-ts-eh. The British pronunciation of the word uses two different sounds for the two different syllables, generally tee-tsee. In Zimbabwe, it is generally pronounced tseh-tsee. (The includes more details of the etymology and pronunciation of tsetse.)

Related Topics:
Tswana - African languages - Ejective

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Tsetse are crudely similar to other large flies, such as the housefly, Musca domestica, but can be distinguished by four characteristics of their anatomy, two of which are easy to observe. Tsetse fold their wings completely when they are resting so that one wing rests directly on top of the other over their abdomen. Tsetse also have a long proboscis which extends directly forward and is attached by a distinct bulb to the bottom of their head.

Related Topics:
Housefly - Anatomy - Abdomen - Proboscis

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Tsetse have existed in the modern morphological form for at least 34 million years since fossil tsetse have been recovered from the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado{{ref|cockerrell:1917}}.

Related Topics:
Fossil - Florissant Fossil Beds - Colorado

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Tsetse fly: Tsetse biology ►