G. morsitans is occasionally distinguishable from congeners by the unaided eye - there are differences in gross coloration - if it can be observed resting.

[7] Flight muscles are primarily powered by proline, which is synthesized from fatty acids mobilised out of the fat body.

[1][9] It is the tsetse species that is presently reported from the highest number of African countries,[10] i.e. at least 22 including: Angola, Burkina Faso,[11] Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia,[12] Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi, Mali,[13] Mozambique, Nigeria,[14] Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan,[15] Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

[10] G. morsitans  was also present in Botswana[17] and Namibia, but the species is believed to have been sustainably eliminated in these two countries by means of aerial spraying of insecticide.

[24] Trypanosomiasis transmitted by G. morsitans and other tsetse species is one of the largest economic problems Africa faces.

This has left about 10,400,000 square kilometres (4,000,000 sq mi) of otherwise usable land devoid of cattle.