New York's Central Park is home to ponds, a forest, fields, a carousel, hot dog vendors and a newly discovered species of fly that's been hiding in plain sight. Themira lohmanus lives on duck poop when young and is named for City College of New York entomologist David Lohman.
How does a species fly under the radar in such a populated and well-studied place as New York City? The fly was first collected in 2007, but was originally misidentified as a member of a known species.
So far, Themira lohmanus has only been found in New York City's Central Park and Prospect Park. "The species breeds on waterfowl dung and it is hypothesized that this makes the species rare in natural environments. However, it thrives in urban parks where the public feeds ducks and geese," notes a study on the fly published in the journal ZooKeys.=read more
No comments:
Post a Comment