Drosophila virilis

{{Short description|Species of fly}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Dvir 1-2.jpg

| image_caption = A D. virilis male

| image2 = Drosophila virilis male.png

| image2_caption = Illustration of a D. virilis male

| genus = Drosophila

| parent = Drosophila virilis group

| species = virilis

| display_parents = 4

| authority = Sturtevant, 1916

}}

File:Dvir 1.tif

Drosophila virilis is a species of fruit fly with a worldwide distribution (probably due to human movements{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-59 |title=Signals of demographic expansion in Drosophila virilis |year=2008 |last1=Mirol |first1=PM |last2=Routtu |first2=J |last3=Hoikkala |first3=A |last4=Butlin |first4=RK |journal=BMC Evol. Biol. |volume=8 |pages=59 |pmid=18298823 |pmc=2276204 |doi-access=free }}), and was one of 12 fruit fly genomes sequenced for a large comparative study.{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nature06341 |title=Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny |year=2007 |last1=Drosophila 12 Genomes Consortium |journal=Nature |volume=450 |pages=203–218 |pmid=17994087 |issue=7167|bibcode=2007Natur.450..203C |display-authors=etal|doi-access=free }} The males have bright red gonads that can be seen through the cuticle.

The life cycle of D. virilis is longer than that of D. melanogaster, in part owing to its larger body size; adult D. virilis are approximately twice the size of D. melanogaster.{{cite book|author1=Therese A. Markow|author2=Patrick M. O'Grady|year=2005|title=Drosophila: A guide to species identification and use|location=London|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-12-473052-6}}