Faunistic Notes on the Subfamily Tabaninae (Diptera: Tabanidae) in East Azarbaijan Province, Iran

Moayyed Mazraeh, Fatemeh; Khaghaninia, Samad; Iranipour, Shahzad; Yavuz Kilic, Ali; Namaki Khameneh, Roya; Sadeghi, Yasaman

doi:10.48311/jibs.12.01.01

Faunistic Notes on the Subfamily Tabaninae (Diptera: Tabanidae) in East Azarbaijan Province, Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Fatemeh Moayyed Mazraeh ¹

samad Khaghaninia ¹

Shahzad Iranipour ¹

Ali Yavuz kilic ²

Roya Namaki Khameneh ³

Yasaman Sadeghi ⁴

¹ Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

² Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Anadolu University, 26470 Eskishehr, Turkey.

³ Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

⁴ Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

10.48311/jibs.12.01.01

Abstract

A faunistic survey of horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) was conducted between 2007 and 2017 in East Azarbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, with the primary aim of identifying the species present in this underexplored region. Specimens were collected using sweeping nets from various habitats including grasslands, forest edges, and semi-aquatic zones across nine geographically diverse localities. In total, nine species belonging to six genera were identified. Among them, seven species - Atylotus flavoguttatus (Szilady, 1915), Atylotus fulvus (Meigen, 1804), Dasyrhamphis nigritus (Fabricius, 1794), Haematopota latebricola Austen, 1925, Hybomitra caucasica (Enderlein, 1925), Philipomyia aprica (Meigen, 1820), and Therioplectes tricolor Zeller, 1842 - are reported for the first time from Iran. These records significantly expand the known diversity of Tabanidae in the country and highlight the importance of continued sampling in ecologically rich but insufficiently studied areas. Notably, this study provides the first confirmed record of the genus Philipomyia in Iran. Additionally, an updated identification key to the genera of the subfamily Tabaninae in Iran is presented. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the distribution and taxonomy of Iranian Tabanidae and provide a baseline for future faunistic and epidemiological studies.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Tabanidae

Tabaninae

Horse flies

New records

East Azarbaijan province

Iran

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