Belgica antarctica
Species of fly / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the insect. For the Belgica Antarctic Expedition, see Belgian Antarctic Expedition.
Belgica antarctica, the Antarctic midge, is a species of flightless midge, endemic to the continent of Antarctica. At 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long, it is the largest purely terrestrial animal native to the continent. It also has the smallest known insect genome as of 2014, with only 99 million base pairs of nucleotides and about 13500 genes. It is the only insect that can survive year-round in Antarctica.
Quick Facts Belgica antarctica, Scientific classification ...
Belgica antarctica | |
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Two Belgica antarctica adults | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Chironomidae |
Genus: | Belgica |
Species: | B. antarctica |
Binomial name | |
Belgica antarctica | |
Distribution in Antarctica (red) |
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