Diversity and molecular identification of Culicoides Latreille 1809 in a mining complex in the southeastern region of the Brazilian Amazon

Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are small hematophagous dipterans with epidemiological and veterinary importance due to the presence of species that act as potential vectors of infectious agents. In southeastern Pará, Brazil, knowledge about these species remains limited. This study aimed to conduct a faunistic inventory of Culicoides species in the area of influence of the Carajás Mining Complex, southeastern Pará, Brazil, describing their composition, richness, and relative abundance, as well as sequencing the COI gene of the most abundant species collected in the region.Specimens were collected using CDC-type light traps and identified through morphological analysis and COI gene sequencing. A total of 18.516 individuals were collected, representing 29 species, with high number of species recorded in forested areas. Among the species with the highest numbers of specimens were Culicoides leopoldoi Ortíz, Culicoides diabolicus Hoffman, Culicoides paucienfuscatus Barbosa, Culicoides insignis Lutz, Culicoides limai Barretto, Culicoides pseudodiabolicus Fox, Culicoides foxi Ortíz, and Culicoides kuripako Felippe-Bauer. Of the total specimens collected, 82.8% were recorded in antropized peridomestic areas of Canaã dos Carajás. The study also reported two new species occurrences for the state of Pará and identified a new species belonging to the subgenus Diphaomyia Vargas. The presence of vector species C. paraensis, C. insignis, C. pusillus e C. debilipalpis highlights the epidemiological potential of the region. Molecular analyses confirmed the accuracy of the morphological identifications. Thus, this study expands the knowledge of the Culicoides fauna in the southeastern region of the state of Pará, providing new faunistic and distributional data for the genus in this area.