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Review
. 2025 Jun 10;18(1):220.
doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06748-5.

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) of the world

Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati  1 , Andrey José de Andrade  2 , Farzana Perveen  3 , Mathieu Loyer  3 , Khamsing Vongphayloth  4 , Fano José Randrianambinintsoa  3 , Jorian Prudhomme  3 , Nil Rahola  5   6 , Mohammad Akhoundi  7   8 , Paloma Helena Fernandes Shimabukuro  9 , Jérôme Depaquit  10   11
Affiliations
Review

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) of the world

Eunice Aparecida Bianchi Galati et al. Parasit Vectors. .

Abstract

Background: Checklists of zoological groups are useful to document species names in a specific area or even worldwide. They serve for various purposes, including ecological studies, conservation reports, policy and decision-making, and species identification. Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) are the vectors of pathogens such as Leishmania, Bartonella and some arboviruses (Toscana, Naples, Sicily), and checklists for sand flies have primarily been published mainly for a state, department, or country. A checklist for American sand flies was published in 2017, but, until then, no effort has been made to compile a comprehensive list of species worldwide. The present study aims to fill this gap of knowledge.

Methods: The present checklist is provided based on a literature overview and biological collections records and includes unpublished data from the authors. The species are presented according to the classification, then alphabetically by Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Distribution by country and type locality of each species are provided. Discussions on the taxonomic status or occurrence of each species are provided when needed.

Results: A total of 23 genera in the Western Hemisphere, formerly the New World (Bichromomyia, Brumptomyia, Deanemyia, Dampfomyia, Edentomyia, Evandromyia, Expapillata, Hertigia, Lutzomyia, Martinsmyia, Micropygomyia, Migonemyia, Nyssomyia, Oligodontomyia, Pintomyia, Pressatia, Psathyromyia, Psychodopygus, Sciopemyia, Trichophoromyia, Trichopygomyia, Viannamyia, and Warileya) and 17 genera in the Eastern Hemisphere, formerly the Old World (Australophlebotomus, Chinius, Demeillonius, Grassomyia, Idiophlebotomus, Libanophlebotomus, Libanophlebotomites, Mesophlebotomites, Paleomyia, Parvidens, Phlebotoiella, Phlebotomiella, Phlebotomites, Phlebotomus, Sergentomyia, Spelaeomyia, Spelaeophlebotomus), including the fossil species, are listed herein. The updated list, excluding nomina dubia/species inquirenda includes 1063 sand fly species, with 549 and 514 species for New World and Old World, respectively. Only New Zealand and the Pacific Islands (excluding New Caledonia) do not record the presence of sand flies. The dataset for this study is publicly available in the SiBBr and GBIF.

Conclusions: This is the first detailed list of valid names of phlebotomine sand flies worldwide, including records from each country where they have been documented.

Keywords: Geographical distribution; New World; Nomenclature changes; Old World; Sand flies; Systematics; Taxonomy; World fauna.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Word cloud with names of all authors of sand fly species. The size of words is equivalent to their frequency, larger words show authors who have described more species
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Authors responsible for the greater number of sand fly species described
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Number of sand flies described around the world per decade
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Number of world sand fly species by genera
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Number of sand fly species by subgenus or ungrouped categories in the world. Ungrouped taxa comprise one Phlebotomus fossil species and 76 species placed in the Sergentomyia genus
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rangel E, Lainson R. Flebotomíneos do Brasil. 1st. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2003.
    1. Galati EAB, Rodrigues BL. A review of historical phlebotominae taxonomy (Diptera: Psychodidae). Neotrop Entomol. 2023;52:539–59. 10.1007/s13744-023-01030-8.%3cGotoISI%3e://WOS:000946826000001. - PubMed
    1. Galati E. Classificação de Phlebotominae. In: Rangel EFLR, editor. Flebotomíneos do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2003. p. 23–51.
    1. Galati E. Classificação de Phlebotominae. In: Rangel EFLR, editor. Flebotomíneos do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Fiocruz; 2003. p. 53–175.
    1. Galati E. Phlebotominae (Diptera, Psychodidae): classification, morphology and terminology of adults and identification of American taxa. In: Rangel EFS, editor. Brazilian sand flies: biology. Taxonomy, medical importance and control: Springer; 2018. p. 9–212.

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