Metacnephia

Khazeni, Atefeh, Adler, Peter H., Telmadareiiy, Zakieh, Oshaghi, Mohammad Ali, Vatandoost, Hasan, Abtahi, Seyed Mohammad & Lotfi, Abolfazl, 2013, The Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Iran, Zootaxa 3694 (1), pp. 67-74 : 68-72

Genus METACNEPHIA Crosskey

1. Metacnephia persica (Rubtsov)

This species is one of five formally described from Iran (Rubtsov 1940). It is known from only one definitive location in the country, the type locality in Tabriz, Tehran Province (Crosskey 2002), in the Eastern Anatolian Montane Steppe ecoregion.

Genus SIMULIUM Latreille

Subgenus BYSSODON Enderlein

GRISEICOLLE species-group Subgenus CROSSKEYELLUM Grenier & Bailly-Choumara

3. Simulium (Crosskeyellum) zagros (Yankovsky)

This species is known from a single female described by Yankovsky (2010) from Lorestan Province. Its occurrence in Iran is oddly disjunct from the only other species in the subgenus Crosskeyellum, which inhabits Morocco. The type of S. zagros , therefore, requires restudy to test its current subgeneric assignment.

Subgenus EUSIMULIUM Roubaud

The following two members of the S. aureum group previously have been identified morphologically from Iran:

4. Simulium (Eusimulium) brachyantherum Rubtsov

A series of larvae, pupae, males, and females was examined from the Elburz Mountains by Crosskey (2002) and assigned tentatively to S. brachyantherum . The record falls within the Elburz Range Forest Steppe ecoregion.

Simulium (Eusimulium) morphoforms

Our larval collections in ethanol could not be analyzed chromosomally and, therefore, are recorded here to the level of subgenus.

New records: Site 2 (2 larvae on 4 Sept 2010; 1 larva on 5 Nov 2010), Site 5 (8 larvae on 21 March 2011), Site 9 (3 larvae on 28 March 2012), Site 11 (5 larvae on 12 May 2012), Site 12 (2 larvae on 27 April 2012).

Simulium (Eusimulium) cytoforms

We found two chromosomally distinct species of the S. aureum group, neither of which has been reported previously in the literature and neither of which could yet be tied to a nominal species. One of these species, based on a larva taken near Tehran (Site 2, 5 Nov 2010), is chromosomally similar to Simulium (Eusimulium) velutinum (Santos Abreu) , but had 2 additional homozygous inversions in IS. Whether the larva represents true S. velutinum or a closely related species must await further sampling. The second species, which previously had been found in Armenia (Adler, unpublished), is based on 3 larvae collected from North Khorasan Province (Site 11, 12 May 2012). These larvae had unique sequences in all 4 arms, but to determine if some of the inverted sequences represent polymorphisms, rather than fixed inversions, requires additional sampling.

Subgenus MONTISIMULIUM Rubtsov Subgenus NEVERMANNIA Enderlein

RUFICORNE species-group

7. Simulium (Nevermannia) brevitarse (Rubtsov)

The larvae of this species have not been described, but our identifications of larvae were based on the similarity of the pupal gill histoblasts to published descriptions of the pupal gill. The only previous record of this species in Iran is from the Elburz Mountains (Crosskey 2002). Our collections of larvae from two distinct ecoregions suggest the possibility of multiple species.

New records: Site 11 (4 larvae on 12 May 2012), Site 13 (6 larvae on 25 Sept 2012).

8. Simulium (Nevermannia) crassicaulum (Rubtsov)

We record this species, previously known only from Uzbekistan, for the first time from Iran (Lorestan Province).

New record: Site 13 (1 larva and 2 pupae on 25 Sept 2012).

Subgenus SIMULIUM Latreille

BEZZII species-group

9. Simulium (Simulium) alajense Rubtsov

We identified this species chromosomally, based on the marked similarity with chromosomal material studied by Adler (unpublished) in Mongolia more than 3500 km to the northeast. In the absence of associated adults from either country, the name ‘ alajense ’ is linked tentatively with the material, which actually might represent one of the other members of the S. bezzii species-group, such as S. coarctatum .

New record: Site 7 (18 larvae on 14 May 2012).

10. Simulium (Simulium) bezzii (Corti)

Simulium bezzii , previously known in Iran from a single collection 26 km northeast of Tehran (Crosskey 2002) was common in our samples. Our chromosomal examination of larvae indicated the presence of at least two cytological forms, based on inversion differences in the long arm of chromosome III, one cytoform across northern Iran and the other in Doaab (Site 13).

New records: Site 1 (20 larvae and 10 pupae on 28 Feb 2012; 3 larvae on 14 October 2011), Site 2 (33 larvae on 4 Sept 2010; 50 larvae on 5 Nov 2010), Site 3 (3 larvae on 7 Sept 2010; 6 larvae on 9 Nov 2010), Site 7 (2 larvae on 29 Feb 2012; 19 larvae on 27 March 2012; 2 larvae on 14 May 2012), Site 9 (5 larvae on 28 March 2012; 45 larvae on 16 May 2012), Site 10 (16 larvae on 18 April 2012), Site 11 (33 larvae on 12 May 2012), Site 12 (5 larvae on 27 April 2012), Site 13 (7 larvae on 25 Sept 2012), Site 15 (20 larvae on 18 March 2011).

11. Simulium (Simulium) coarctatum Rubtsov

Yankovsky (2010) identified a single female of S. coarctatum from Lorestan Province. 12. Simulium (Simulium) iranicum (Yankovsky)

This species was described from 10 females collected in Lorestan Province (Yankovsky 2010).

ORNATUM species-group

Along with S. bezzii and the subgenus Wilhelmia , the S. ornatum species-group was the most commonly represented taxon in our collections.

13. Simulium (Simulium) kiritshenkoi Rubtsov

As a member of the chromosomally diverse and morphologically homogeneous S. ornatum group, the identification of S. kiritshenkoi is problematic. The type (female) of S. kiritshenkoi was collected in the Shahrud area of northern Iran on 26 May 1944. We examined the chromosomes of larvae from North Khorasan and Tehran Provinces, within 250-300 km both east and west of Shahrud. These samples were chromosomally cohesive, suggesting that they represent the type specimen and can be considered bona fide S. kiritshenkoi . We also tentatively consider a population in Doaab (Alashtar; Site 13) to be S. kiritshenkoi , although it is chromosomally different from populations in northern Iran. Crosskey (2002) provided additional, morphologically based records for S. kiritshenkoi .

New records: Site 2 (6 larvae on 4 Sept 2010; 9 larvae on 5 Nov 2010), Site 3 (1 larva on 7 Sept 2010), Site 6? (3 larvae on 23 Feb 2012), Site 7 (2 larvae on 29 Feb 2012; 17 larvae on 27 March 2012; 10 larvae on 14 May 2012), Site 8 (6 larvae on 24 Feb 2012), Site 9 (45 larvae on 28 March 2012; 45 larvae on 16 May 2012), Site 11 (24 larvae on 12 May 2012), Site 12 (50 larvae on 27 April 2012), Site 13 (20 larvae on 25 Sept 2012), Site 15 (1 larva on 18 March 2011; 1 larva on 22 Aug 2011), Site 16 (200 larvae on 10 Aug 2012).

14. Simulium (Simulium) fontanum Terteryan

The only known record of this species in Iran—a single male with its pupal exuviae—is from the Elburz Mountains (Crosskey 2002). The identity of this species needs to be resolved chromosomally vis à vis other Asian members of the S. ornatum group.

VARIEGATUM species-group

15. Simulium (Simulium) variegatum Meigen

Crosskey (2002) provided the first record of S. variegatum for Iran, a single collection of larvae, pupae, females, and males from the Elburz Mountains. We provide a chromosomally verified record from Doaab (Site 13), based on a female larva with the basic banding sequence characteristic of S. variegatum .

New records: Site 3 (5 larvae on 9 Nov 2010), Site 8? (7 small larvae on 26 March 2012), Site 13 (1 larva on 25 Sept 2012).

Subgenus TRICHODAGMIA Enderlein

ALBELLUM species-group

16. Simulium (Trichodagmia) margaritae (Rubtsov)

The Iranian record for this species comes from a veterinary report of biting problems on cattle in the Arasbaran area of northwestern Iran (Nikdel et al. 2003).

17. Simulium (Trichodagmia) transcaspicum Enderlein

Previous Iranian records of S. transcaspicum in Iran are of adults from the Elburz Mountains and Caspian Sea coast (Crosskey 2002). We provide the world’s southernmost record for this species. Our collection was based only on larvae. Additional life stages from this area should be studied to determine if the material is conspecific with the type from Turkmenistan.

New record: Site 14 (40 larvae on 15 April 2012).

Subgenus WILHELMIA Enderlein

EQUINUM species-group

18. Simulium (Wilhelmia) lineatum (Meigen)

Simulium lineatum is at the southeastern extreme of its distribution in Iran. All previous records, except one from Tabriz (ca. 80 km south of the Armenian border), are from the Isfahan area (Crosskey 2002). The pupae are the most easily identified of the Wilhelmia species in Iran. The identity of our larvae from the Zayandeh River in the Isfahan area (Site 4) was confirmed chromosomally.

New records: Site 4 (34 larvae on 26 March 2011), Site 10 (2 larvae and 1 pupa on 18 April 2012).

19. Simulium (Wilhelmia) lurestanicum (Yankovsky)

Simulium lurestanicum was described by Yankovsky (2010) from a series of females collected in Lorestan Province. The size and shape of the spermatheca is diagnostic for females of the subgenus Wilhelmia in Iran (Crosskey 2002). Given the size and shape of the spermatheca illustrated by Yankovsky (2010), and the lack of additional convincing diagnostic characters, we suspect that S. lurestanicum is a synonym of S. paraequinum . Pending study of the type series, we refrain from proposing formal synonymy.

20. Simulium (Wilhelmia) paraequinum Puri

One previous record for S. paraequinum in Iran, based on a single male from Chalous on the Caspian Sea coast, was reported (Crosskey 2002). The larvae and pupae can be difficult to distinguish morphologically from those of S. pseudequinum , and our material here is recorded as S. paraequinum / pseudequinum , unless a chromosomal identification was made.

New records (for S. paraequinum / pseudequinum ): Site 1 (12 larvae on 28 Feb 2012), Site 5 (2 larvae on 21 March 2011), Site 6 (1 larva on 23 Feb 2012), Site 7 (15 larvae on 29 Feb 2012; 30 larvae on 27 March 2012; 19 larvae on 14 May 2012), Site 8 (2 larvae on 26 March 2012), Site 9 (1 larva on 28 March 2012), Site 13 (200 larvae on 25 Sept 2012), Site 14 (3 larvae on 15 April 2012).

21. Simulium (Wilhelmia) pseudequinum Séguy

The only previous record (Shahrud) of S. pseudequinum in Iran was given by Rubtsov (1951; as Wilhelmia mediterranea ). We chromosomally identified this species from the Zayandeh River in the Isfahan area (Site 4), which also allowed us to distinguish the immature larvae from those of S. lineatum in the same collection. The chromosomes of S. pseudequinum , unlike those of S. paraequinum and S. lineatum , lack the chromocentric-like arrangement of the centromeres (Chubareva & Petrova 2008).

New record: Site 4 (51 larvae on 26 March 2011).

22. Simulium (Wilhelmia) veltistshevi Rubtsov

The record of S. veltistshevi in Iran is uncertain. It appeared with a query mark in the world inventory of Crosskey & Howard (1997), and has been carried through subsequent revisions of the inventory. Its occurrence in Iran, however, requires verification.

Genus SULCICNEPHIA Rubtsov

23. Sulcicnephia znoikoi (Rubtsov)

Crosskey (2002) provided the only record (Sarab) of this species from Iran.