First report of the morphological and molecular characterization of Pseudolynchia canariensis (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) from Al-Baha region, Saudi Arabia

This study aims to study the morphological and molecular characterization of (Pseudolynchia canariensis; Macquart, 1839)in the Al-Baha region of Saudi Arabia. Ninety-four pigeons were obtained from traditional pigeon breeding farms of the Al-Baha region, and fly samples were collected. Taxonomic keys were used to define the morphology of flies, whereas molecular characteristics were identified based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1. The rate of Pseudolynchia canariensis infestation in the examined pigeons was 44.5%. The genetic sequences of the fly samples were deposited in GenBank (accession number OQ073507). The match rate between the fly samples from the present study and those previously recorded in GenBank (accession numbers: EF531220, OM073981, and MW853922) displayed 99.66%. This study demonstrates that Pseudolynchia canariensis is common in the Al-Baha region; thus, further studies are required to detect other species from the same genus and their geographical distribution.