''Austrosimulium'' is a
genus of 31
species of black flies that are distributed in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand. There are 2
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
: ''
Austrosimulium'' whose species are principally from New Zealand, and ''
Novaustrosimulium'' which are exclusively Australian. ''Austrosimulium'' is a sister genus to the monospecific ''
Paraustrosimulium'' of South America.
Some species are known to spread the
protozoa
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
n blood parasite ''
Leucocytozoon tawaki
''Leucocytozoon '' (or ''Leukocytozoon'') is a genus of parasitic alveolates belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa (which also includes the malaria parasites).
The species of this genus use either blackflies (''Simulium'' species) or a biting ...
'' in
penguin
Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...
s.
In New Zealand, where they are known as ''
sandflies'' or namu (in
Māori from
Proto-Austronesian *''ñamuk'' "
mosquito", compare with ms, nyamuk),
three species – ''
A. australense'', ''
A. tillyardianum'' and ''
A. ungulatum'' – bite humans.
Species
*Subgenus ''
Austrosimulium''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. albovelatum''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. alveolatum''
Dumbleton, 1973[Craig, D.A.; Craig, R.E.G.; Crosby, T.K. 2012]
Simuliidae (Insecta: Diptera).
''Fauna of New Zealand'', (68)
**''
A. australense''
( Schiner, 1868)
**''
A. bicorne''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. campbellense''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. cornutum''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. crassipes''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. dugdalei''
Craig, Craig & Crosby, 2012
**''
A. dumbletoni''
Crosby, 1976
**''
A. extendorum''
Craig, Craig & Crosby, 2012
**''
A. fiordense''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. fulvicorne''
Mackerras & Mackerras, 1950
**''
A. laticorne''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. longicorne''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. mirabile''
Mackerras & Mackerras, 1948
**''
A. montanum''
Mackerras & Mackerras, 1952
**''
A. multicorne''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. stewartense''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. tillyardianum''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. tonnoiri''
Craig, Craig & Crosby, 2012
**''
A. ungulatum''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. unicorne''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. vailavoense''
Craig, Craig & Crosby, 2012
**''
A. vexans''
( Mik, 1881)
*Subgenus ''
Novaustrosimulium''
Dumbleton, 1973
**''
A. bancrofti''
(Taylor, 1918)
**''
A. furiosum''
( Skuse, 1889)
**''
A. magnum''
Mackerras & Mackerras, 1955
**''
A. pestilens''
Mackerras & Mackerras, 1948
**''
A. torrentium''
Tonnoir, 1925
**''
A. victoriae''
(Roubaud, 1906)
*''Austrosimulium'' species as yet unplaced
**''
A. colboi''
Davies & Györkös, 1988
Literature cited
External links
*
* https://web.archive.org/web/20130208160901/http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/AbtCit/ei/EcoWtr/macroinv/macroinvertebrates.asp , page with many Macroinvertebrates listed, described and illustrated
Simuliidae
Culicomorpha genera
{{Chironomoidea-stub