Morphological and molecular description of a new species of sandfly, Sergentomyia (Neophlebotomus) ashwanii sp. nov. (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Western Ghats, India

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine
• Main Authors: Prasanta Saini, Harish Kumar Shah, Mathew Jessu, T Sonia, Tom Anns, KP Amju
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024
• Subjects: sergentomyia (neophlebotomus) ashwanii; coi barcode; western ghats; phlebotomine sandflies; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/apjtm.apjtm_732_23; https://doaj.org/article/fd7fef1c543f4e0bb8800cb4933b0951

To report a new species of sandfly, Sergentomyia (Neophlebotomus) ashwanii sp. nov. (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Western Ghats, India. A systematic sandfly survey was conducted in the Thrissur and Kollam districts of Kerala, India using mechanical aspirators, light and sticky traps, both indoor and outdoor habitats, for a period of one year. Deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding of samples was performed targeting mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene and sequence generated was subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Sergentomyia (Neophlebotomus) ashwanii, a new sandfly species is recorded and described in this communication. A single row of 10-12 pointed teeth in the cibarium with 4-6 small denticles or fore-teeth are the key characteristics that is distinctive from other members of the subgenus Neophlebotomus. Mitochondrial COI barcode followed by phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequence confirms that specimens of the species belong to the same taxonomic group while the genetic distance (14.2%) with the congeners established it to be a different species. The Western Ghats' being an important biodiversity hotspot and has dearth of systematic entomological surveys on sandflies. The current study tried to fill the void and also report a new sandfly species.