''Tabanus'' is a genus of biting horseflies of the family

Tabanidae Horse flies and deer flies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. The adults are often large and agile in flight. Only females bite land vertebrates, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in sunli ...

. Females have scissor-like mouthparts that are able to penetrate the skin of livestock animals. The horsefly can then extract and ingest the animal's

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

. Horseflies of this genus are known to be potential vectors of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

, worms and trypanosomes. Some species, such as ''

Tabanus bovinus ''Tabanus bovinus'', sometimes called the pale giant horse-fly, is a species of biting horse-fly. As the scientific name suggests, it prefers bovine animals as the source of blood, although it may bite other kind of mammals as well. The insect is ...

'', prefer

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...

animals and are less harmful to humans. The genus contains hundreds of species and many species groups.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2720956 Tabanidae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Brachycera genera

See also

References