New insights on diversity, morphology and distribution of Culicoides latreille 1809 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from northeast spain

The present work provides an improvement on the knowledge of the diversity, morphology and distribution of Culicoides species in Catalonia (NE Spain). Data derived from morphology and sequencing allowed to detect the presence of 13 species non previously found in the surveillance area, updating the number of species recorded in Catalonia up to 53. Of special interest among the newly recorded species are: 1) C. yemenensis, new record for Europe, 2) C. coluzzii and C. sejfadinei, being new records for the Iberian Peninsula, and 3) C. pseudopallidus which is new record for Spain. Regarding the current distribution of Culicoides species, two eco-zones were detected in the region, the first eco-zone had species with typical northern Palaearctic (European) distribution whereas the second had species with typical southern Palaearctic (African) distribution, which were apparently influenced by mean high temperature of the warmest month and annual precipitation rate. © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.