About Megaselia scalaris

Megaselia scalaris is a scuttle fly of the Phoridae family, also known as the coffin fly or humpbacked fly [1]. Originally from warm climates, the species is synanthropic and is now found near human habitations worldwide. These tiny flies are omnivorous in the broadest sense of the term, eating almost anything, dead or alive, from bacteria to mammals; and even manage to survive on just blue paint or boot polish [2]. The name 'coffin fly' derives from their ability to get through tiny cracks in coffins in order to feed on the corpse, and forensic evidence based on the presence of M. scalaris can be used to infer a postmortem interval (if sufficient precautions are taken - see discussion in [2]).

Phylogenetically, M. scalaris lies between mosquitoes and fruitflies [3], and thus may be useful in dipteran comparative studies. This species also has potential as a model organism because it is amenable to manipulation in a laboratory, and has different neurological and physiological properties to Drosophila melanogaster; it may be particularly suited to studying mechanisms of sex determination [4].

Picture credit (Creative Commons BY 3.0): Charles Schurch Lewallen 2005

Taxonomy ID 36166

Data source Ensembl Metazoa

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