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Tabanus autumnalis

species of insect

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ1617236
Source-derived summary

Tabanus autumnalis, the large marsh horsefly, is a medium-sized species of biting horse-fly. It is somewhat scarce compared to T. bromius and T. bovinus. This species shows slightly more of a preference for coastal marsh than some of the other European Tabanus, sometime even found in saltmashes.

Description

Eyes without coloured bands. Male: postocular edge almost covered by the eyes and with a short fringe. Palps: second segment oval. Female: postocular edge narrower; interocular 4-5-6 times longer than wide; median plate bare, joining the lower one. Antennae: third segment with a blunt or short tooth. Wing has a hyaline costal cell.Abdomen: dorsal side with a lateral line of light spots placed between the midline and the lateral edge of the tergites, so that on the black background you can see five light longitudinal lines: one median, two lateral, and two marginal, separated from each other by four black lines. Wing length is 13–16 mm and about 16–22 mm in body length.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Tabanus autumnalis” as species of insect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tabanus, autumnalis and species.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current 161-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Tabanus, autumnalis and species providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tabanus autumnalis”, the useful work is to connect “species of insect” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1617236. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tabanus autumnalis”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tabanus autumnalis primary sources, Tabanus autumnalis archive and Tabanus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Tabanus autumnalis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.