Zimb

Zimb

Taxobox
name = Zimb
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Hexapoda
classis = Insecta
subclassis = Pterygota
infraclassis = Neoptera
superordo = Endopterygota|
ordo = Diptera
subordo = Brachycera
infraordo = Tabanomorpha
superfamilia = Tabanoidea
familia = Tabanidae
subfamilia = Pangoniinae
genus = "Pangonia"
genus_authority = Latreille, 1804
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = various

The zimb, also known as tsaltsalya (Ethiopian) or seriut (Arabic), is any horse-fly of the genus "Pangonia" found in Ethiopia. The genus is more widespread and contains many species, but only those from this region are given the name "zimb". They are similar in feeding habits to the tsetse fly but completely unrelated. It is large, and destructive to livestock; though its bite is painful, it is not venomous, contrary to many sources of misinformation on the internet.

The zimb was first described in Western literature by James Bruce, who wrote of the creature,

As soon as this plague appears, and their buzzing is heard, all the cattle forsake their food, and run wildly about the plain, till they die, worn out with fatigue, fright, and hunger. No remedy remains but to leave the black earth, and hasten down to the sands of Atbara; and there they remain, while the rains last, this cruel enemy not daring to pursue them further. Though his size be immense, as is his strength, and his body covered with a thick skin, defended with strong hair, yet even the camel is not capable of sustaining the violent punctures the fly makes with his pointed proboscis. When once attacked by this fly, his body, head, and legs, break out into large bosses, which swell, break, and putrefy, to the certain destruction of the creature. Even the elephant and rhinoceros, which, by reason of their enormous bulk, and the vast quantity of food and water they daily need, cannot shift to desert and dry places, as the season may require, are obliged to roll themselves in mud and mire; which, when dry, coats them over like armor, and enables them to stand their ground against this winged assassin.

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