Winging South: Finally, a fly fossil from Antarctica
By Sid Perkins
A tiny fossil collected about 500 kilometers from the South Pole indicates that Antarctica was once home to a type of fly that scientists long thought had never inhabited the now-icy, almost insectfree continent.
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The diverse group of fly species called schizophorans includes houseflies, fruit flies, and flesh-burrowing blowflies. Previously, many researchers held that schizophorans evolved elsewhere and long after Antarctica had become geographically isolated from other major landmasses.