Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, 1911

Galvão, Cleber, Gil-Santana, Hélcio R. & Oliveira, Jader de, 2024, The taxonomic catalog of the Brazilian fauna: biodiversity and geographical distribution of Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Brazil, Zoologia (e 24006) 41, pp. 1-28 : 10

Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, 1911

Fig. 9

Distribution. Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Goiás, ParaÍba, Perambuco, PiauÍ, Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe and Tocantins.

Public health importance. This species is the fifth major vector of Chagas disease ( WHO 2020). Since the success of T. infestans control in Brazil, T. brasiliensis has been considered currently the most important vector of Chagas disease in the semiarid areas of northeastern Brazil ( Costa et al. 2013, 2014).

Remarks. The status of subspecies and species of the T. brasiliensis complex was disputed for many years ( Lent and Wygodzinsky 1979, Costa et al. 2013). Some multidisciplinary studies, such as morphology ( Costa et al. 1997a, 2009), biolo - gy ( Costa and Marchon-Silva 1998), ecology (Costa et al. 1998, 2002, 2014, Valença-Barbosa et al. 2014), breeding and genetics ( Costa et al. 2003, Alevi et al. 2014), and molecular biology ( Costa et al. 1997b, Monteiro et al. 2004, Harry et al. 2009), were carried out on this species searching to confirm the existence of a species complex including two subspecies: T. b. brasiliensis and T. b. macromelasoma ( Costa et al. 2013).