Boussès Philippe auteur aut IRD Marie J. auteur aut IRD Mathieu-Daudé Françoise auteur aut IRD Kengne Pierre auteur aut IRD Manzanilla Vincent auteur aut IRD Lardeux Frédéric auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access A retrospective examination of historical mosquito collections held at the Institut de Recherche pour le D & eacute;veloppement (IRD, France) and the Institut Louis-Malard & eacute; (ILM, Tahiti, French Polynesia) revealed evidence of Aedes nocturnus on the island of Tahiti dating back as early as 1993. This historical detection was corroborated by targeted field surveys conducted between 2023 and 2025, which confirmed the species' presence at multiple sites, particularly in the southern part of the island. To support these observations, COI sequences from newly collected specimens were analyzed. Although recent work favors recognizing Ae. nocturnus as a distinct species, it has historically been treated as a synonym or geographic subspecies of Ae. vexans. Consequently, the Tahitian sequences were compared with Ae. vexans sensu lato sequences from GenBank, as no Ae. nocturnus sensu stricto sequences were available. The Tahitian specimens clustered within the Pacific group of Ae. vexans, in a sub-group represented by South Pacific islands, including New Caledonia and Moorea, one of the Society Islands. This study provides the first confirmed record of Ae. nocturnus on Tahiti, based on both morphological identification and molecular evidence. The findings underscore the need to integrate molecular tools into entomological monitoring to improve species detection and prevent misidentifications in island environments where vector diversity is often underestimated. specialized Aedes vexans Aedes nipponii COI taxonomy South Pacific islands POLYNESIE FRANCAISE TAHITI 052 [Early access] [11 p.] 2026 0037-9271 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010097353 10.1080/00379271.2026.2655192 0037-9271 [F B010097353] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010097353 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2026-07/010097353.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2026-07-09 2026-07-09 fdi:010097353 fre