Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 17 1 2023 07 30 1610 1610 EN Abbas Heydari Department of Entomology, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran Sinan Anlaş Celal Bayar University, Alaşehir Vocational School, Department of Entomology, Alaşehir, Manisa, Turkey Hasan Bakhshi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mona Koosha Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Nayyereh Choubdar Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Somayeh Panahi-Moghadam Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Ali Oshaghi Department of Vector Biology and Control of Diseases, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2023 01 12 2023 06 11 Background: A combined morphological and molecular survey was performed to determine the agent of human linear dermatitis Paederus Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Paederinae) species composition in Mazandaran Prov­ince in the Caspian Sea coast in northern Iran, where most of linear dermatitis cases of the country occurred. Methods: Altogether, 397 Paederus specimens were collected from May to August 2021 and classified using morphological characters and ITS2-rDNA sequence analysis. Results: Morphological investigation revealed that all the specimens were Paederus fuscipes. ITS2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) direct-sequences and the profiles of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) derived from digestion of PCR products by HinfI, HpaII, and SalI enzymes were identical confirming the morphological results, implying that all specimens belonged to a single taxon. Conclusion: Paederus fuscipes (Fabricius, 1775) is considered the dominant taxon and responsible for linear dermatitis in Ma­zandaran Province. To our knowledge, we have provided the first molecular typing of Paederus beetles at the species level, suggesting that ITS2-rDNA characterization is an alternative tool for species discrimination of Paederus spp. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1610 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1610/620