Belgica antarctica

Common card · No. 251351

Belgica antarctica, the Antarctic midge, is a species of flightless midge, endemic to the continent of Antarctica. At a length of 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in), it is the largest purely terrestrial invertebrate native to the continent. It also has the smallest known insect genome as of 2014, with only 99 million base pairs (Mbp) of nucleotides and about 13,500 genes. It is the only insect that can survive year-round in Antarctica.

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