Diagnostic molecular markers for the females of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) caucasicus and P. mongolensis were sought by characterizing from individual Iranian specimens a gene fragment, namely mitochondrial cytochrome b, that had previously proven useful for the taxonomy of phlebotomine sandflies. Males of both species were used as reference material because their external genitalia provide the only diagnostic morphological characters. A phylogenetic analysis of the new sequences, and those previously reported for P. grimmi, found no support for recognizing more than one species (P. caucasicus s.l.) in Iran. Most of the genetic variation was geographical. An absence of lineage sorting was demonstrated, and it is proposed that any search for species-specific molecular markers for these three taxonomic species should be continued by applied biologists only if there is better evidence for associating any one of them with phenotypes important for understanding the transmission of Leishmania species in foci of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis.

We assess the genetic history and population structure of Cicada barbara in Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula, based on analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The divergence between Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula populations was strongly corroborated by the molecular data, suggesting genetically isolated populations with a low level of gene flow. The Ceuta population from Spanish North Africa was more similar to the Iberian populations than the surrounding Moroccan populations, suggesting that the Strait of Gibraltar has not been acting as a strict barrier to dispersal while the Rif Mountains have. The Iberian Peninsula specimens showed a signature of demographic expansion before that which occurred in Morocco, but some of the assumptions related to the demographic parameters should be considered with caution due to the small genetic variation found. The high haplotype diversity found in Morocco implies higher demographic stability than in the Iberian Peninsula populations. These results do not, however, suggest a Moroccan origin for Iberian cicadas; but the most northwest region in Africa, such as Ceuta, might have acted as a southern refuge for Iberian cicadas during the most severe climatic conditions, from where they could expand north when climate improved. The separation of two subspecies within C. barbara (C. barbara lusitanica and C. barbara barbara) finds support with these results.