''Gyrostigma'' is a genus of

botfly Botflies, also known as warble flies, heel flies, and gadflies, are a family of flies known as the Oestridae. Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host's flesh and others within the gut. ''Dermatobia homin ...

which parasitize

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

es. The best-known species is ''

Gyrostigma rhinocerontis ''Gyrostigma rhinocerontis'' (also known as the Rhinoceros stomach botfly) is the largest fly species known in Africa. It is a parasite of the Black Rhinoceros and the White Rhinoceros. Because the fly depends on the rhinoceros for reproduction, ...

'', the rhinoceros stomach botfly, which develops in the stomach lining of the

Black Rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

and

White Rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing (behaviour), grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white ...

of Africa, and the adult of which is the largest fly known in Africa. Two other species are known. ''G. conjungens'' was discovered in the stomach of a Kenyan Black Rhinoceros in 1901, but has not been observed since 1961. The other is ''G. sumatrensis'', which was found in a captive

Sumatran Rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...

in 1884 but has not been observed since. Due to the difficulty of observing these short-lived flies, it is possible that there are other species corresponding to the other species of rhinoceros, but they remain undescribed. It is also possible that several species of Gyrostigma are extinct because rhinoceros populations are tiny owing to their state of endangerment.

References

* Barraclough, David A. "Bushels of Bots". In '' Natural History'', June 2006. Oestridae Parasitic flies Schizophora genera Taxa named by Frederick William Hope {{Oestroidea-stub