The Shannoni complex, comprising sand flies belonging to the subgenus Psathyromyia (Psathyromyia) Barretto, consists of several species, of which the females have banana-shaped spermathecae and the males have digitiform parameres on the terminalia. Among these species, Psathyromyia shannoni (Dyar) and two taxa considered as its junior synonyms (Phlebotomus limai Fonseca and Phlebotomus bigeniculatus Floch & Abonnenc), Psathyromyia pestanai (Barretto & Coutinho), and a new species are the focus of this study. On the basis of morphological and morphometric characters, Psathyromyia bigeniculata (Floch and Abonnenc) stat. rev.; comb. n. and Psathyromyia limai (Fonseca) stat. rev.; comb. n. are resurrected from the synonymy of Pa. shannoni. Pa. pestanai is proposed as a new junior synonym of Pa. limai. Psathyromyia ribeirensis sp. n., occurring in the middle and upper Ribeira Valley in the state of São Paulo, Brazil is described. Pa. limai, described from the Serra da Cantareira (São Paulo municipality) and also found in the lower Ribeira Valley and on the adjacent coastal plain, is morphologically very close to the new species.

In the Amazon region the phlebotomine fauna is considered one of the most diverse in the world. The use of Shannon traps may provide information on the anthropophily of the species and improve the traps’ performance in terms of diversity and quantity of insects collected when white and black colored traps are used together. This study sought to verify the attractiveness of the traps to the phlebotomine species of the Brazilian Amazon basin using Shannon traps under these conditions. The insects were collected using two Shannon traps installed side by side, one white and the other black, in a primary forest area of the municipality of Xapuri, Acre, Brazil. Samples were collected once a month during the period August 2013 to July 2015. A sample of females was dissected to test for natural infection by flagellates. A total of 6,309 (864 males and 5,445 females) specimens (36 species) were collected. Psychodopygus carrerai carrerai (42%), Nyssomyia shawi (36%), and Psychodopygus davisi (13%), together represented 90% of the insects collected. Nyssomyia shawi and Psychodopygus davisi were more attracted by the white color. Specimens of Nyssomyia shawi, Nyssomyia whitmani, and Psychodopygus hirsutus hirsutus were found naturally infected by flagellates in the mid and hindgut. This is the first study in Acre state using and comparing both black and white Shannon traps, demonstrating the richness, diversity, and anthropophilic behavior of the phlebotomine species and identifying proven and putative vectors of the etiological agents of leishmaniasis.

Psathyromyia shannoni until recently presented several taxa: Phlebotomus limai, Ph. bigeniculatus, Ph. pifanoi, and Ph. microcephalus as its junior synonyms. In a previous study, the two former synonyms were resurrected and here a revision based on morphological characters of the taxonomic status of Ph. microcephalus and Ph. pifanoi is presented. Psathyromyia pifanoi STAT REV; COMB N: is resurrected from the synonymy of Pa. shannoni and its female is described. Phlebotomus microcephalus is removed from the synonymy of Pa. shannoni and proposed as a new synonym of Pa. bigeniculata Lutzomyia cuzquena SYN N: , occurring in the Amazon region, is designated as a junior synonym of Pa. pifanoi The geographical distributions of Pa shannoni, Pa. bigeniculata, and Pa. pifanoi in the Americas are presented.

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