Simulium Latreille

Takaoka, Hiroyuki, Sofian-Azirun, Mohd, Ya’Cob, Zubaidah, Chen, Chee Dhang, Lau, Koon Weng, Low, Van Lun, Pham, Xuan Da & Adler, Peter H., 2017, The black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Vietnam, Zootaxa 4261 (1), pp. 1-165 : 10-11

Genus Simulium Latreille

The family Simuliidae is classified in 26 genera, of which Simulium is the largest and most widely distributed genus, with 37 subgenera ( Adler and Crosskey 2016). Simulium is the only genus recognized in the Oriental Region, where a total of 524 species are recorded ( Adler and Crosskey 2016), and they are further classified in 10 subgenera, i.e., three endemic subgenera (Asiosimulium Takaoka & Choochote, Daviesellum Takaoka & Adler, and Wallacellum Takaoka), one semi-endemic subgenus ( Gomphostilbia ), four cosmopolitan subgenera ( Byssodon Enderlein , Eusimulium Roubaud , Nevermannia and Simulium ), and two subgenera with a Palaearctic distribution ( Montisimulium and Wilhelmia Enderlein ). In the Oriental Region, the subgenus Simulium is dominant, having 232 species (44.3%), followed by Gomphostilbia with 193 component species (36.8%) and Nevermannia with 55 species (10.5%), while seven other subgenera consist of 1 to 16 species.

Four subgenera ( Gomphostilbia , Montisimulium , Nevermannia and Simulium ) have been reported in Vietnam. Definitions of the genus Simulium and 10 subgenera follow those given by Crosskey (1969), Takaoka (2003, 2012), Takaoka and Adler (1997) and Takaoka and Choochote (2005b).

The keys to all these subgenera of the genus Simulium are herein updated. The subgenera and species-groups known from Vietnam are shown in bold face type.