First Findings and Molecular Data of Phlebotomus mascittii (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Cantabrian Cornice (Northern Spain)

Abstract

Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) mascittii Grassi, 1908 (Diptera: Psychodidae) has been found in several European countries. In Spain, sporadic records were reported in the early ’80s in Catalonia (Northeast Spain), and it was never detected again. Recent entomological surveys carried out between 2004 and 2020 revealed the presence of several specimens of P. mascittii in Spain. The species identification was confirmed by both morphological and molecular analyses. The analyzed specimens belonged to the haplotype (COI_2) defined by one polymorphic site compared to other European specimens. Phlebotomus mascittii was found in low population densities in rural areas associated with livestock farms and in an urban cemetery during the summer season. This study provides the first records of this species in various localities along the Cantabrian cornice (Northern Spain) and represents its westernmost observation in the Palearctic region. The implications of the finding of this uncommon species are discussed at different levels, with emphasis on its suspected role in the transmission of leishmaniosis.

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from Spain: an updated checklist and extended distributions

“…Furthermore, during a two-year (2019-2020) local research project aimed at revealing the diversity of bloodsucking dipteran pests in urban and rural areas of the Basque Country (northern Spain), specimens were detected in an urban cemetery. All of these new reports along the Cantabrian cor-nice (northern Spain) motivated the realisation of a study recently focused on this species, which delved into the distribution of its different haplotypes (Alarcón-Elbal et al 2021).…”

An approach to telmophagous Nematocera (Ceratopogonidae, Psychodidae, and Simuliidae) of Spain, with emphasis on its medical and veterinary importance

“…DNA in specimens collected from other European countries such as Austria may support its possible role in the transmission [73]. This sand fly species is found in Northern Spain, including the Catalonian provinces of Barcelona and Girona, and the Autonomous Community of Cantabria and the Basque Country [52]. Although L. infantum is the only species present in Spain to date, it must be taken into account that some other Spanish species are capable of transmitting Leishmania tropica (which is also present in neighbouring Portugal) and Leishmania major, such as Phlebotomus sergenti Parrot, 1917 [74] and Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli, 1786) [75], respectively.…”

“…Morphological identification of phlebotomine sand flies rely on the examination of internal structures, such as both the spermathecae and pharynx in females, and the genitalia in males, so it is mandatory to prepare slide-mounted specimens to achieve species level determination [50]. Nevertheless, the use of the COI genetic marker for species identification confirmation has become more widely used, especially in females with hardly visible structures [51,52]. Regarding its bioecology, sand flies are weak fliers, with a characteristic short hopping flight, travelling no more than a few hundred metres from their breeding sites.…”

Sand fly fauna of South-Eastern Romania, with the description of Phlebotomus (Transphlebotomus) simonahalepae n. sp. (Diptera: Psychodidae)

“…simonahalepae n. sp. does not overlap with any of these species [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Despite repeated efforts to sample more specimens, no other individual from the newly described species was captured (authors' unpublished data).…”

“…Fig. 6 The currently known distribution areas of species of subgenus Transphlebotomus [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] anatolicus by the number of prolongations of the knob of the spermathecae (9 vs. 10-12), the presence of the neck as well as morphometry of the head structures [10]; from Ph. mascittii the morphological differences refer to the aspect of the knob of the spermathecae, number of prolongations (9 vs. 10-12), and the presence of the neck and the size of labrum [9]; from Ph.…”