First report of the dog louse fly Hippobosca longipennis in Romania.

Abstract

Hippobosca longipennis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), the dog fly or dog louse fly, is an obligate blood-feeding ectoparasite of wild and domestic carnivores in Africa and the Middle East. Outside its typically known geographic range, H.longipennis has been reported occasionally on mainly domestic dogs in Asia and southern Europe, and infrequently in other areas (central Europe and the U.S.A.). This paper presents the first report of H.longipennis in Romania and the second record of Lipoptena fortisetosa (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), a potentially invasive species. Hippobosca longipennis was found on domestic dogs in two regions of the country (northern Romania in Maramures and southwestern Romania in Dobrogea) and on two road-killed wildcats in Maramures. Lipoptena fortisetosa was found on domestic dogs in Maramures. In both species identification was based on morphology and confirmed by barcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene. It is not clear for how long H.longipennis has been present in central Europe, nor if it was introduced (via the movement of domestic dogs or import of exotic carnivores) or present historically (Holocene remnants). This paper discusses the possible origins of H.longipennis in central Europe as its current distribution in the area is sparse and patchy.