Morphology does not allow differentiating the species of the Phlebotomus perniciosus complex: Molecular characterization and investigation of their natural infection by Leishmania infantum in Morocco.

Morphological and DNA-based complemented approaches were applied for characterization of sympatric populations of Phlebotomus longicuspis and Phlebotomus perniciosus in Morocco. Both sand fly species are generally recorded in sympatry in North Africa but on few occasions have been molecularly characterized. The diagnostic confusion of these species has led to errors in their geographical distribution and probably, in the assignment of their role in the transmission of L.