TAXONOMIC STATUS OF PHLEBOTOMUS-SERGENTI PARROT, 1917, VECTOR OF LEISHMANIA-TROPICA (WRIGHT, 1903) AND PHLEBOTOMUS-SIMILIS PERFILIEV, 1963 (DIPTERA-PSYCHODIDAE) - BIOGEOGRAPHY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY

A morphological and morphometrical study of the closely related taxa P hlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti et P. (Paraphlebotomus) similis confirms their specific taxonomic status. Differential characters betw een these two species are discussed. Males differ by the aspect of the basal process of the coxite which is curved and narrow in the first s pecies whereas straight and thick for the latter The P. similis proces s is bigger and tuffer and its style is longer than those of P. sergen ti. Females differ by the morphology of the armature of the pharynx an d by the number of rings of the spermatheca. Distribution areas of the se species are described. P. similis is a North-Eastern Mediterranean species (from Yugoslavia to western Turkey and Azerbaidjan). Fl sergen ti is present from Canary Islands (Spain) to India. From these data, t he settlement of Paraphlebotomus in the Mediterranean basin may have o ccurred during the Miocene age. From an Asiatic common ancestor two mi gration routes are proposed. One, north of the Paratethys Sea, may be responsible for the isolation of P. similis. The other south of the Pa ratethys and Tethys Seas, may have contributed to the individualisatio n of P. sergenti. The authors consider P. similis as a suspected vecto r of Leishmania tropica.