For years people have been convinced that the smallest fly in existence had already been found and exploited. Or maybe most people had no idea that an extremely tiny fly species actually exists. An entomologist who is employed by the Natural History Museum at Los Angeles, Brian Brown, recently found the world’s tiniest fly species. There may be smaller flies that exist in the wild, but this is doubtful. Brown decided to name the new fly species after a particular movie star. Ironically, Brown chose to name the tiny fly after a very large human, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The recently discovered fly species has been named Megapropodiphora arnoldi. You can no doubt see Schwarzenegger’s first name in there. The tiny fly is only .395 millimeters in length. Brown chose to name the new insect after Schwarzenegger because he is a huge fan of the action star, and the tiny fly happens to possess unusually big forearms. Apparently, the forearms reminded Brown of body builders. Of course the action star has also gained notoriety for his bodybuilding accomplishments. Brown claims that one of the primary reasons for his love of Schwarzenegger had to do with Brown’s lack of motivation to become fit. However, as a skinny teenager, Brown eventually found the motivation to work out thanks to Schwarzenegger. So naming the insect was also like paying tribute to his popular Hollywood idol.
The recently discovered fly possessed a large head and forearms, but its other body parts are much smaller than usual. The wings on this fly species are like tiny nubs that have yet to develop. The fly originated from Brazil. The discovery of Megapropodiphora arnoldi displaces Euryplatea nanaknihali as the number one smallest fly species on earth. The fly is also quite likely to be parasitic, choosing to live-off of termites and plants.
Would you feel honored if someone named an insect after you?
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