First Palaearctic Record of the Bird Parasite Passeromyia heterochaeta (Diptera: Muscidae) from the Iranian Persian Gulf Islands

BACKGROUND: Passeromyia is a muscid genus previously known from the Old World Afrotropical and Oriental regions and eastwards from Australia and the West Pacific. The genus is known from nest-dwelling larvae which may be parasites of the nestlings. This study was aimed to identify of the Passeromyia species in the Iranian Persian Gulf Islands. METHODS: The flies were collected during April 2010 to March 2011 on the 4 Iranian Persian Gulf islands, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, Abu-Mousa and Qeshm with fly bottle trap and entomological net. RESULTS: During this sampling, 18 representatives of P. heterochaeta, a species with free-living haematophagous larvae, have been collected. The species is reported herein from Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, Abu-Mousa and Qeshm islands. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first Palaearctic record of the species as well as the first report of the genus Passeromyia from the Palaearctic Region.