title: Dimorphic male scutal patterns and upper-eye facets of Simulium mirum n. sp. (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A species of Simulium in the Simulium melanopus species-group of the subgenus Simulium (formerly misidentified as S. laterale Edwards from Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia) is suspected to have dimorphic male scutal color patterns linked with different numbers of upper-eye facets. This study aimed to confirm whether or not these two forms of adult males represent a single species.
  
  
  METHODS
  DNA sequences generated from four genetic loci, the mitochondrial-encoded COI, COII, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes, of both forms of Simulium sp. males were compared with each other and also with those of the females and larvae of the same species. Four other related Simulium spp. were also used for comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both the concatenated dataset and single-locus phylogenetic analyses indicate that the two distinct morphological males of Simulium sp. are indeed conspecific, and represent, together with their associated females and larvae, a distinct species.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on DNA analyses, Simulium sp. is proven to show dimorphism in males and is herein described as a new species, Simulium mirum Takaoka, Sofian-Azirun & Low. This is the first report of such a novel species among the family Simuliidae.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. takaoka@oita-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takaoka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. lucaslow24@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Van Lun
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Low
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. sofian@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Mohd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofian-Azirun
authors.affiliation: Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima, Japan. yotsuka@cpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. xuehy_perdana@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Zubaidah
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ya'cob
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. chen_ctbr@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Chee Dhang
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. holy2mercury@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Koon Weng
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: International Tropical Forestry Programme, Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. mlourdes@ums.edu.my.
authors.forename: Maria Lourdes
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lardizabal
mesh_terms: D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000818:Animals; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D005123:Eye / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012843:Simuliidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; C075526:RNA, ribosomal, 12S; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV