Simulium (Simulium) reptans (Linnaeus, 1758)

Belqat, Boutaïna, Adler, Peter H., Cherairia, Mouna & Boudghane-Bendiouis, Chafika Chaoui, 2018, Inventory of the Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of North Africa, Zootaxa 4442 (2), pp. 201-220 : 214

Simulium (Simulium) reptans species group

Algeria: Tlemcen Mountains: Gagneur & Clergue-Gazeau (1988: 276) listed but locality unspecified (as S. (S.) gr. reptans ).

Tunisia: Clergue-Gazeau & Boumaiza (1986: 603, 605, 607, 609, 611, 613): reported but identity uncertain, dichotomous key. Tunis Province: Anderson & Lehucher (1940: 105–112): implicated as vector in onchocerciasis involving young male human, identity almost certainly incorrect.

Comment: We list the S. reptans group here for the sake of completeness. The presence of any member of the S. reptans group in North Africa, however, is doubtful. The Tunisian record evidently traces to a pre-1940 identification of a female by Etienne Roubaud ( Anderson & Lehucher 1940, Bailly-Choumara et al. 1971), and the Algerian record (based on larvae) appears as a name in a faunistic list without supporting details ( Gagneur & Clergue-Gazeau 1988).