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Brachytarsina sp.
Spotted 75M in an un-named cave, Brgy. Amalbalan, Dasol, Pangasinan. Obligate ectoparasite on a Horseshoe Bat.
On a Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus sp.) http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/943...
Ace Amarga:(Philippine Bat Champions) suggested genus Brachytarsina and identification of it up to species level requires wing venation examination. Photo by Jerry Rendon.
7 Comments
Ace Amarga:(Philippine Bat Champions) suggested genus Brachytarsina and identification of it up to species level requires wing venation examination.
Bat flies are nominally divided into two cosmopolitan families, Streblidae and
Nycteribiidae, but recent phylogenetic studies suggest these are not natural
groups (Dittmar et al. 2006). Nycteribiids (275 species) are more speciose
in the Eastern Hemisphere, whereas the streblids (227 species) are richer in
the Western...
Although all nycteribiids are wingless (Fig. 1b), most (220 species or
97%) streblids possess wings, but not all these possess functional, macropterous wings (Figs. 1a, d). -http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/aa/Files/patterso/Dick___Patterson_2006_MicromammalsMacroparasites.pdf
however, I just found this:
Nycteribiidae are wingless, have reduced eyes, and a spiderlike appearance. This is because their legs actually insert dorsally into the thorax.
Streblidae have varying degrees of wing reduction, and appear more like a regular fly. They also have reduced eyes. -http://www.bat-flies.buffalo.edu/general_info.html
Thanks jumpingspiderman, I now think it's a bat fly but I'm leaning towards Nycteribiidae because:
Streblidae ... are generally considered to be New World species, while Nycteribiidae ... are mostly found in the Old World. -http://batflies.wordpress.com/about/
I agree that this is probably a bat fly. Because it looks like it has wings it's probably in the family Streblidae. Here's a link to an interesting Encyclopedia Britannica article on bat flies: http://m.eb.com/topic/55703
Thanks Chun, I'll look into Bat Flies... but first it's bedtime!
http://batflies.wordpress.com/about/
https://sites.google.com/a/fieldmuseum.o...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streblidae
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nycteribiid...
From what I can see from here, it looks more like an insect.
I think it is a strange type of fly called the Bat Fly.
They live as parasites on bats.
Some species of Bat Flies have lost their ability to fly.