Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Desmometopa tarsalis
mosca, fly
Widely transported throughout the Pacific by commerce (Sabrosky 1983).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Diptera
Suborder
Brachycera
Family
Milichiidae
Genus
Desmometopa
Species
tarsalis
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1964
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: On habitat material (soil, vegetation)
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
- Sinclair, B. J. (2023) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Zootaxa, 5283, 1-102
- Sinclair, B.J. Peck, S.B. (2005) An annotated checklist of the Diptera of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador). Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished, 64 pp.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Desmometopa tarsalis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=12304. Accessed 3 November 2026.