Simulium (Simulium) vanluni

Takaoka, Hiroyuki, Ya’Cob, Zubaidah & Sofian-Azirun, Mohd, 2018, Classification, annotated list and keys for the black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Peninsular Malaysia, Zootaxa 4498 (1), pp. 1-65 : 51

54. Simulium (Simulium) vanluni Ya’cob, Takaoka & Sofian-Azirun, 2017

Simulium (Simulium) nobile (not sensu De Meijere): Crosskey: 1973: 428; Takaoka & Davies, 1995: 123–124.

Simulium (Simulium) vanluni Ya’cob, Takaoka & Sofian-Azirun, in Ya’cob et al., 2017a: 32–38 (Female, male, pupa and larva).

This species was first recorded as S. (S.) nobile from Peninsular Malaysia ( Crosskey, 1973). A DNA analysis using the CO1 gene revealed three cryptic species in S. (S.) nobile , one from Java (type locality of this species), one from Sabah and one from Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand (Low et al., 2016a). The cryptic species from Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand was thus given a new name, S. (S.) vanluni , and its female, male, pupa and larva were described (Ya’cob et al., 2017a).

It is characterized in the larva by thoracic segment 3 and abdominal segments 1–5 each with a pair of dorsal protuberances, and abdominal segments 2–8 sparsely to densely covered with spatulate setae. The upper-eye facets of males collected from Kedah are fewer than those of males from Java (11 vertical columns and 12 horizontal rows versus 13 or 14 vertical columns and 13 or 14 horizontal rows).

The aquatic stages of this species are found in medium-sized to large streams at low elevations (less than 500 m) in various provinces of Peninsular Malaysia ( Ya’cob et al., 2016a).

This species was also recorded from Thailand ( Kuvangkadilok and Takaoka, 2000).