Report of a New Species of Sand Fly, Phlebotomus (Anaphlebotomus) Ajithii N. Sp. (Diptera: Psychodidae), from Western Ghats, India

Overview

Journal Parasit Vectors

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Parasitology
Tropical Medicine

Date 2024 Sep 12

PMID 39267125

Authors

Harish Kumar Shah

P A Fathima

Jose Jicksy

Prasanta Saini

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Western Ghats is a biodiversity treasure trove with reports of indigenous leishmaniasis cases. Hence, systematic sand fly surveillance was carried out among the tribal population. The present study reports a novel sand fly species, Phlebotomus (Anaphlebotomus) ajithii n. sp. (Diptera: Psychodidae), discovered in the Western Ghats of India.

Methods: A comprehensive sand fly survey was conducted across the Kollam, Thrissur, Idukki, Kasaragod and Malappuram districts of Kerala, India. The survey spanned both indoor and outdoor habitats using standard collection methods over a 3-year, 3-month period. DNA barcoding of samples was performed targeting mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, and the sequence generated was subjected to phylogenetic analysis.

Results: Phlebotomus (Anaphlebotomus) ajithii, a new sand fly species, is recorded and described in this communication. The morphological relationship of the new species to other members of the subgenus Anaphlebotomus is discussed. Mitochondrial COI barcode followed by phylogenetic analysis confirmed that specimens of Ph. ajithii belong to the same taxonomic group, while a genetic distance of 11.7% from congeners established it as a distinct species.

Conclusions: The Western Ghats, known for its rich biodiversity, has lacked systematic entomological surveys focusing on sand flies. This study aims to fill this gap and reports and describes a new species of sand fly.

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