Morphological and Morphometric Taxonomic Identification of Phlebotomine Sand Flies (Psychodidae) in Selected Areas of the Al Jabal Al Gharbi Region, Libya
Keywords:
Leishmaniasis, Sand flies, Morphometrics, Leishmania, Vector identification, LibyaAbstract
Leishmaniases represent a significant public health problem due to their serious socioeconomic and psychosocial impacts in endemic areas. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive taxonomic assessment of sand fly species in northwestern Libya based on morphological and morphometric analyses. A total of 353 sand fly specimens were collected during 2025. Species identification and classification were carried out using morphological and morphometric characteristics. The results revealed the presence of ten sand fly species belonging to two genera, including six species of Phlebotomus and four species of Sergentomyia.
Morphometric measurements of the recorded sand fly species were compared across three geographical localities (Kalipa, Al-Rabta, and Al-Qawasim) to evaluate spatial variation. Eight morphometric characters were measured and analyzed, allowing the identification of reliable diagnostic traits that effectively discriminated among the ten sand fly species recorded in northwestern Libya.
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