| New Zealand bat fly | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mystacinobia zelandica holotype NZAC04019196 (male), dorsal view | |
| |
| Lateral view | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Subsection: | Calyptratae |
| Superfamily: | Oestroidea |
| Family: | Mystacinobiidae |
| Genus: | Mystacinobia |
| Species: | M. zelandica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mystacinobia zelandica | |
The New Zealand bat fly (Mystacinobia zelandica) is a small, wingless insect which lives in a commensal relationship with the New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat. It is a true fly, in the order Diptera, placed in its own genus, Mystacinobia, and its own family, Mystacinobiidae. Although many other species of bat fly exist throughout the world, the New Zealand bat fly is endemic to the islands of New Zealand.[2] Unlike other similar looking bat flies, this species is not a parasite and is only phoretic, feeding on bat guano. It appears to be the only insect, parasitic or otherwise, which lives with these bats (fleas, for example, which are common on many other species of bat, are unknown on the short-tailed bat).[1]
- ^ a b Holloway, Beverley A. (1976). "A new bat-fly family from New Zealand (Diptera: Mystacinobiidae)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 3 (4): 279–301. doi:10.1080/03014223.1976.9517919.
- ^ Gibbs, George. (2008). Ghosts of Gondwana. Craig Potton Publishing: Auckland. p16