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We describe a new species of Tabanus (for Uruguay, the first in more than 90 years) based on females from the Department of Tacuarembó, Uruguay. Tabanus tacuaremboensis sp. n. is the 15th species of the genus Tabanus recorded from Uruguay. The species description is accompanied by illustrations of the diagnostic external and internal characters. In addition, for comparison with the new species, we provide photographs of the regional species of Tabanus whose distributions are still poorly known. In view of the lengthy hiatus since the last new tabanid species was described from Uruguay, we offer a brief discussion of the importance of new and further sampling in areas where the tabanofauna is still poorly known., (© 2022. Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.)

Horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) cause direct and indirect losses in livestock production and are important vectors of pathogens. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and seasonality of horse fly species at an experimental farm in Tacuarembó and the diversity of species in different departments of Uruguay. For 20 months, systematic collections were performed in two different environments at the experimental farm using Nzi and Malaise traps. In addition, nonsystematic collections were performed at farms located in the departments of Paysandú, Tacuarembó and Colonia. A total of 3,666 horse flies were collected, and 16 species were identified. These species included three species that had not been previously recorded in Uruguay, namely, Dasybasis ornatissima (Brèthes), Dasybasis missionum (Macquart), and Tabanus aff. platensis Brèthes, and a species that had not been previously taxonomically described (Tabanus sp.1). Among the systematically captured samples, the most abundant species were Tabanus campestris Brèthes, T. aff. platensis and D. missionum, representing 77.6% of the collected specimens. The horse fly season in Tacuarembó started in September and ended in May. No horse flies were caught during winter. Variations in the prevalences of species in the different departments were observed, which indicates the need for new sampling efforts.