Bilateral Anomaly in a Male of Evandromyia lenti (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

More than 1,000 species of phlebotomine sand flies have been described in the literature, many of which are vectors of Leishmania spp. In addition to the morphological similarities between some species groups, the occurrence of anomalies within one species may lead to erroneous description of new taxa. This study describes a case of bilateral anomaly in the number of spines in the gonostyle in a male of Evandromyia lenti. In this anomalous male, a 5th spine is present between the upper external spine and the lower external spine. The occurrence of such an anomaly can potentially result in misidentifications in this important group of insects.