1 — Dorsal view, 2 — ventral view. Scale bars are 1 mm.
One of the specialized groups of mammalian ectoparasites from the family Hippoboscidae Samouelle, 1819 is the genus Lipoptena Nitzsch, 1818. These small and medium-sized flies transmit numerous dangerous pathogens. One representative of this group, Lipoptena arianae Maa, 1969, is a widespread species in Asia, found on various species of the ram Ovis Linnaeus, 1758 in Iran, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Studies by various authors have observed significant discrepancies and contradictions in the drawings and morphological data for this fly.
Scientists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) obtained new specimens of L. arianae from the Severtsov ram (Ovis ammon severtzovi Nasonov, 1914) in Uzbekistan. The studied flies were compared with the holotype. Discrepancies with published data on morphology and distribution were clarified. The specimens we studied and the holotype have a greater number of humeral, laterocentral, and parafrontal setae than reported in the literature.
Given that this species has been found in northeastern and southern Iran, southern Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan (Kyzylkum Desert, Nuratau Mountains, and Samarkand), it can be assumed that it is also present in Turkmenistan and possibly Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan. It can also be assumed that this species is thermophilic.
The genus Ovis is of Central Asian origin. These animals evolved along migration routes from their ancestral range to both Europe and the New World. L. arianae is thought to parasitize all subspecies of O. ammon, O. orientalis Linnaeus, 1758, O. vignei Blyth, 1841, and their hybrids, but not domestic sheep. Therefore, this parasite may pose a threat to protected wild species.