Austrosimulium | |
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Austrosimulium australense | |
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Genus: | Austrosimulium Tonnoir, 1925
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Type species | |
A. australense (Schiner, 1868)[1]
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Species | |
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Austrosimulium is a genus of 31 species of black flies that are distributed in Australia and New Zealand. There are 2 subgenera: Austrosimulium whose species are principally from New Zealand, and Novaustrosimulium which are exclusively Australian.[2] Austrosimulium is a sister genus to the monospecific Paraustrosimulium of South America.[3]
Some species are known to spread the protozoan blood parasite Leucocytozoon tawaki in penguins.[4][5][6]
In New Zealand, where they are known as sandflies or namu (in Māori from Proto-Austronesian *ñamuk "mosquito", compare with Malay: nyamuk),[7][8] three species – A. australense, A. tillyardianum and A. ungulatum – bite humans.[9][7]
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