World’s Biggest Fly Faces Two New Challengers
The two newfound fly species, each as long as a finger, were collecting dust in museum collections.
The planet's largest fly faces two new challengers, which were discovered collecting dust in old museum cabinets.
With wingspans as wide as a hand and finger-length bodies, the newly described insects are almost as eye-popping as their world-record relative, Gauromydas heros.
Scientists identified G. mateus and G. papaveroi from 14 forgotten specimens found in collections in Brazil, France, and Costa Rica that date back to the 1930s.
These specimens are the only known trace of the two new species, according to study leader Julia Calhau, of the University of São Paulo's Museum of Zoology in Brazil.
With body lengths of up to 1.7 inches (4.3 centimeters) and wingspans of up to 3.5 inches (9 centimeters), neither species in the small sample
