Dr Robert Copeland and fellow dipterist Dr Ashley Kirk-Spriggs found the fly, known as Mormotomyia Hirsuta, in its only known habitat, a cave-like rock cleft in Ukazi Hill east of Nairobi.

"The re-discovery of the species, which has been collected on only two occasions before, in 1933 and 1948, has caused excitement in insect museums world-wide," said the statement.

The mission was led by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe), an organisation which aims to reduce poverty and improve health and food security by enhancing tropical African countries' ability to harness their natural resources through the study of insects.

The spider-like fly is described as "strange, due to its relatively large size, the males of which can stretch over one centimetre its long legs and covering of yellow hairs, reduced eyes and its non-functional wings."

"Since Mormotomyia cannot fly, there is a strong possibility that it is really restricted to this tiny habitat," Copeland said.

"If that is the case, it would be wonderful if the entire Ukazi Hill, on which it is found, were declared a national heritage area and given suitable conservation protection," he added.

earlier related report
3 times rescued sea lion to be put down
Sausalito, Calif. (UPI) Dec 7, 2010 - Experts say a sea lion rescued three times in California has suffered brain damage so severe she cannot survive even in captivity.

Nau'au, as the animal has been named, will be put down, the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., said Monday. The sea lion was found Saturday a mile from the water in Oakley in the Sacramento Delta at the eastern end of San Francisco Bay.

Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the center, said even though Nau'au has been moving and feeding, an MRI and EKG showed severe brain damage from eating fish contaminated with toxic algae.

Nau'au was first rescued in May after she came ashore in Santa Cruz, about 50 miles south of San Francisco, to give birth. Her pup died because she could not produce enough milk to feed it.

In July, she was removed from a Santa Cruz beach. She was treated at the center both times and then released.

The toxin in the algae destroys the brains of marine mammals over a period of time.

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