MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISATION OF TWO CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES BELONGING TO THE SUBGENUS PARAPHLEBOTOMUS: PHLEBOTOMUS CHABAUDI CROSET, ABONNENC & RIOUX, 1970 AND P. RIOUXI DEPAQUIT, KILLICK-KENDRICK & LEGER, 1998 (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE)

In 1998, the description of Phlebotomus riouxi emphasised the difficulty to differentiate the female from the closely related P. chabaudi, a suspected vector of Leishmania killicki in several foci in Tunisia. In order to be able to distinguish the females of these two species, we started a molecular study based on 37 Algerian and Tunisian specimens. The alignment of the sequences of the cytochrome b of the mitochondrial DNA and their analysis using Neighbor-Joining, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony shows the individualisation of two species including an introspecific variability. Following a morphological approach, it is not possible to distinguish the females on the basis of their spermathecae. A new character is proposed: the presence of antero-lateral teeth of the pharyngeal armature for P. chabaudi, never observed in P. riouxi. However, a molecular typing is necessary at the present time for a sure identification of the females.