tabanid

[ tab-uh-nid, tuh-bey-nid, -ban-id ]

noun

1. any of numerous bloodsucking flies of the family Tabanidae, comprising the deer flies and horse flies.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the family Tabanidae.

tabanid

/ ˈtæbənɪd /

noun

1. any stout-bodied fly of the dipterous family Tabanidae, the females of which have mouthparts specialized for sucking blood: includes the horseflies

Word History and Origins

Origin of tabanid¹

1890–95; < New Latin Tabanidae name of the family, equivalent to Taban ( us ) a genus ( Latin tabānus gadfly) + -idae -id ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of tabanid¹

C19: from Latin tabānus horsefly

Example Sentences

E. schneideri is primarily transmitted by tabanid flies like horse and deer flies.

From Science Daily

Further, the scientists did not see a single tabanid probe a zebra’s skin during 5.3 hours of direct observation, whereas the flies successfully did so 239 times on the uncovered horses during 11 hours of observing them.

From Science Magazine

"Above all, for this explanation to be true, the authors would have to show that tabanid fly bites are a major selection pressure on zebras, but not on horses and donkeys found elsewhere in the world... none of which are stripy," he told BBC Nature.

From BBC