After discovering 750 different species in a career spanning 50 years, one would think environmental scientist Gunther​ Theischinger​ had seen it all.



But then came the fly with a forked penis.

It was a morning of "atrocious" weather conditions in May last year when Professor Theischinger came across the crane fly in a creek in Kosciuszko National Park "by accident".

"We do a lot of sampling and you try to get in your net what you can. Usually flies are not caught in the water...but when we returned to the lab in Jindabyne it was still alive in the net with all the sand and gravel."

Professor Theischinger has described the insect as one of the most intriguing he has discovered.