''Campsicnemus popeye'' is a species of

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

fly described in 2013. It was discovered from the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

. The species is named after the famous cartoon character

Popeye the Sailor Man Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

(which are like the bulging forearms of Popeye). The species is in fact among a group of six new species described as "Popeye flies". The specimen was collected in 2006 during an expedition to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

Discovery and etymology

''Campsicnemus popeye'' was discovered as a part of Terrestrial Arthropods of French Polynesia Survey funded by the

U.S. National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

. The survey covered the Society Islands of French Polynesia during 2004 and 2007, and the survey successfully discovered dozens of new species. The survey team was led by Neal L. Evenhuis, former president of the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

and a Senior Research Entomologist at the

Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the lar ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The formal description was published on 3 August 2013 in the journal ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

''. Evenhuis, known for his eccentric style of giving

binomial names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

, gave the specific name ''C. popeye'' because the swollen mid-tibia (middle legs) of the fly somewhat resemble the bulging forearms of the well-known cartoon hero Popeye the Sailor Man

Description

Adult ''Campsicnemus popeye'' has a body length between 3 and 3.2 mm, and wing length of 3.1 to 3.6 mm. Its head is black in colour with dark-brown toward the front face. It has a pair of antennae and a pair of compound eyes, which are distinctively red. The antennal segments are a mixture of black and yellow patterns. The main body (

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

) is yellow, while its

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

are black. The mid-tibia is particularly enlarged towards the apical region, somewhat like the swollen forearms of Popeye. The wing membrane is uniformly pale-smoky coloured. The abdominal segments ( tergites) are largely brown, with yellow stripes on the sites of tergites II and IV. Each tergite has numerous short black hairs on the dorsal side, and few long hairs on the side. The main difference of a female from a male is absence of large spiny setae on the legs, and the swollen legs.

Biology

Male ''Campsicnemus popeye'' use its enlarged tibia for attracting female. It was humorously reported that the fly does not like

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

, in contrast to its namesake, and is in fact strictly carnivorous. However, much like Popeye trying to woo

Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...

, the male fly flexes its muscular legs during courtship rituals to impress the mate. They are found to congregate around bodies of water.

References

External links

Six New Species of Popeye Flies Discovered in Tahiti
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15709302 Sympycninae Fauna of French Polynesia Popeye Insects described in 2013