Morphometric separation of females of Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) duboscqi and P. (P.) bergeroti (Diptera:Psychodidae).
Morphometric evaluation of 27 characters of allopatric females of the closely related species, Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire and P. bergeroti Parrot, was made in Ethiopia with the aim of finding reliable means to distinguish sympatric specimens. By applying stepwise discriminant analysis, 100% correct classification was obtained using 8 characters. However, 2 of these characters, C3 and C4 (respective distances from sockets of the longest ascoids on segment 3 and 4 to distal margin of the segment) with the highest discriminant loadings, separated these 2 species with a success rate of 98%. It is recommended that these 2 characters be used in the routine identification of these species.
Gebre-Michael
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Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Medhin
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G
D000818:Animals; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013045:Species Specificity