Cobboldia

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iElephant bot flies
Larvae of Cobbolidia from autopsy of an elephant stomach
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Diptera Suborder: Brachycera Superfamily: Oestroidea Family: Oestridae Subfamily: Gasterophilinae Genus: Cobboldia Brauer, 1887
Species
Cobboldia chrysidiformis Rodhain & Bequaert, 1915 Cobboldia elephantis (Cobbold), 1882 Cobboldia loxodontis Brauer, 1896 Cobboldia roverei Gedoelst, 1915 Cobboldia russanovi Grunin, 1973

Cobboldia is a genus of parasitic flies in the family Oestridae. Cobboldia elephantis and Cobboldia loxodontis adults lay their eggs near the mouth or base of the tusks of Asian and African elephants, respectively. The larvae hatch and develop in the mouth cavity and later move to the stomach. On maturing they exit from the mouth and drop to the ground to pupate. A fossil species Cobboldia russanovi is known from the frozen remains of Mammoths.

The genus is named after Thomas Spencer Cobbold (1828 - 1886).

[edit] References

• Grunin, K.Y. 1973. The first finding of the stomach bot-fly larvae of the mammoth: Cobboldia (Mamontia, subgen. n.) russanovi, sp. nov. (Diptera, Gasterophilidae). Entomol. Obozr. 52: 228-33. [English translation, 1973, Entomol. Rev. 52(1): 165-69.]
• Pont, A. (1976) The date and author of Cobboldia elephantis (Diptera: Gasterophilidae). Zeitschrschrift fur Angewandte Zoologie 63: 23