Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TROPICAL INSECT SCIENCE, cilt.42, sa.93, ss.102, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Leishmaniasis, transmitted to human by sand flies, is a neglected
vector-borne diseases and has two clinical forms; cutaneous (CL) and visceral
leishmaniasis (VL) in Turkey. Subgenus of Adlerius
are known as probable vectors of both forms of leishmaniasis in Turkey. Examined
three species belonging to Adlerius are
difficult to distinguish morphologically and have similar taxonomic characters.
The aim of this study was to analyse and identify the possible morphological
variations, of wild-caught sand fly specimens belonging to Adlerius subgenus. Six and seven morphological characters for
female and male specimens were used, respectively. ANOVA, Principal Component
Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) test were performed to
determine the significant morphometric variables of the three species. Univariate
and multivariate analyses of 13 morphometric variables via ANOVA, DFA and PCA
showed that eight (six for females, two for males) morphometric variables had
an accuracy of 100% for discriminating three Adlerius subgenus specimens. The analyses revealed significant
differences on several morphological structures of Adlerius specimens. These results suggested that morphological and
morphometrical features can be used to discriminate three Adlerius species, which one of them is proven vector Leishmania (L.) tropica in two foci
of Turkey.