OBJECTIVES:

To update the list of sand fly species (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Mato Grosso State, Brazil, and to demonstrate the spatial distribution of leishmaniasis main vector species in the State.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Data were obtained from academic publications on the phlebotomine fauna of Mato Grosso and entomological reports from the Mato Grosso State Health Department database from 2006 to 2021. The taxonomic nomenclature of the specimens followed recent updates by leading researchers in the field.

RESULTS:

Twenty-six new species were detected in the phlebotomine fauna of Mato Grosso, with 132 species in total; six of the genus Brumptomyia, and 126 distributed among 16 other genera. The main vectors of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (Nyssomyia whitmani and Bichromomyia flaviscutellata) and visceral leishmaniasis (Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) longipalpis and Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) cruzi) were recorded in all three existing biomes in the State, especially in Cerrado.

CONCLUSION:

The phlebotomine fauna of Mato Grosso is one of the richest and most diversified in the country, with important species in leishmaniasis epidemiology distributed across all three biomes, a fact that reinforces the significance and necessity of entomological surveys to monitor the occurrence and distribution of leishmaniasis vectors in the region.