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| Taxonomy of Anopheles | |
|---|---|
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| Anopheles stephensi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Culicidae |
| Subfamily: | Anophelinae |
| Genus: | Anopheles |
| Subgenera | |
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Anopheles is a genus of mosquitoes (Culicidae) with about 484 recognised species.
The classification of this genus began in 1901 with Frederick Vincent Theobald. [1] Despite the passage of time, the taxonomy remains incompletely settled. [2] [3] [4] Classification into species is based on morphological characteristics - wing spots, head anatomy, larval and pupal anatomy, and chromosome structure, and more recently on DNA sequences. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The genus Anopheles belongs to a subfamily Anophelinae with three genera: Anopheles Meigen (nearly worldwide distribution), Bironella Theobald (Australia only: 11 described species) and Chagasia Cruz (Neotropics: four described species). The genus Bironella has been divided into three subgenera: Bironella Theobald (two species), Brugella Edwards (three species) and Neobironella Tenorio (three species). Bironella appears to be the sister taxon to the Anopheles, with Chagasia forming the outgroup in this subfamily.
The type species of the genus is Anopheles maculipennis . [9]
The genus has been subdivided into seven subgenera based primarily on the number and positions of specialized setae on the gonocoxites of the male genitalia. The system of subgenera originated with the work of Christophers, who in 1915 described three subgenera: Anopheles (widely distributed), Myzomyia (later renamed Cellia ) (Old World) and Nyssorhynchus (Neotropical). Nyssorhynchus was first described as Lavernia by Theobald. Frederick Wallace Edwards in 1932 added the subgenus Stethomyia (Neotropical distribution). Kerteszia was also described by Edwards in 1932, but then was recognised as a subgrouping of Nyssorhynchus. It was elevated to subgenus status by Komp in 1937; this subgenus is also found in the Neotropics. Two additional subgenera have since been recognised: Baimaia (Southeast Asia only) by Harbach et al. in 2005 and Lophopodomyia (Neotropical) by Antunes in 1937.
One species within each subgenus has been identified as the type species of that particular subgenus:
Within the genus Anopheles are two main groupings, one formed by the Cellia and Anopheles subgenera and a second by Kerteszia, Lophopodomyia, and Nyssorhynchus. Subgenus Stethomyia is an outlier with respect to these two taxa. Within the second group, Kerteszia and Nyssorhynchus appear to be sister taxa. Cellia appears to be more closely related to the Kerteszia-Lophopodomyia-Nyssorhynchus group than to Anopheles or Stethomyia, tentatively suggesting the following branching order: ( Stethomyia ( Anopheles ( Cellia ( Lophopodomyia ( Kerteszia, Nyssorhynchus))))).
The number of species currently recognised within the subgenera is given here in parentheses: Anopheles (206 species), Baimaia (one), Cellia (239), Kerteszia (12), Lophopodomyia (six), Nyssorhynchus (34) and Stethomyia (five).
The subgenus Baimaia may be elevated to genus level, as it appears to be a sister group to Bironella and all other Anopheles. [12]
Taxonomic units between subgenus and species are not currently recognised as official zoological names. In practice, a number of taxonomic levels have been introduced. The larger subgenera (Anopheles, Cellia, and Nyssorhynchus) have been subdivided into sections and series, which in turn have been divided into groups and subgroups. Below subgroup but above species level is the species complex. Taxonomic levels above species complex can be distinguished on morphological grounds. Species within a species complex are either morphologically identical or extremely similar and can only be reliably separated by microscopic examination of the chromosomes or DNA sequencing. The classification continues to be revised.
The first species complex was described in 1926 when the problem of nontransmission of malaria by Anopheles gambiae was solved by Falleroni, who recognised that An. gambiae was a complex of six species, of which only four could transmit malaria. This complex has subsequently been revised to a total of seven species of which five transmit malaria.
Subgenus Nyssorhynchus has been divided in three sections: Albimanus (19 species), Argyritarsis (11 species) and Myzorhynchella (four species). The Argyritarsis section has been subdivided into Albitarsis and Argyritarsis groups.
The Anopheles group was divided by Edwards into four series: Anopheles (worldwide), Myzorhynchus (Palearctic, Oriental, Australasian and Afrotropical), Cycloleppteron (Neotropical) and Lophoscelomyia (Oriental); and two groups, Arribalzagia (Neotropical) and Christya (Afrotropical). Reid and Knight (1961) modified this classification by subdividing the subgenus Anopheles into two sections, Angusticorn and Laticorn and six series. The division was based on the shape of their pupal trumpets. The Laticorn section was created for those species with wide, funnel-shaped trumpets having the longest axis transverse to the stem, and the Angusticorn section for species with semitubular trumpets having the longest axis vertical more or less in line with the stem. The earlier Arribalzagia and Christya groups were considered to be series. The Angusticorn section includes members of the Anopheles, Cycloleppteron, and Lophoscelomyia series, and the Laticorn section includes the Arribalzagia (24 species), Christya, and Myzorhynchus series.
Cellia is the largest subgenus: all species within this subgenus are found in the Old World. It has been divided into six series - Cellia (eight species), Myzomyia (69 species), Neocellia (33 species), Neomyzomyia (99 species), Paramyzomyia (six species) and Pyretophorus (22 species). This classification was developed by Grjebine (in 1966), Reid (in 1968), and Gillies & de Meillon (also in 1968) [13] based on the work by Edwards in 1932. Series definition within this subgenus is based on the cibarial armature - a collection of specialized spicules borne ventrally at the posterior margin of the cibarium - which was first used as a taxonomic method by Christophers in 1933.
Kerteszia is a small subgenus found in South America whose larvae have specific ecological requirements; these can only develop within water that accumulates at the base of the follicular axis of the epiphytic Bromeliaceae. Unlike the majority of mosquitoes, species in this subgenus are active during the day.
Within a number of species, separate subspecies have been identified. The diagnostic criteria and characteristic features of each subgenus are discussed on the own page.
Anopheles nuneztovari is a species complex with at least one occurring in Colombia and Venezuela and another occurring in the Amazon Basin. [14]
Species that have been shown to be vectors of human malaria are marked with a star (*) after the name.
Anopheles rageaui Mattingly and Adam
Series Cellia (Christophers 1924)
Series Myzomyia
Series Neocellia (Christophers 1924)
Series Neomyzomyia (Christophers 1924)
Series Paramyzomyia (Christophers & Barraud 1931)
Series Pyretophorus (Blanchard 1902)
Note: Anopheles cruzii is known to be a species complex, [21] but the number species in this complex has yet to be finalised.
The following are currently regarded as nomina nuda:
A subgroup of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto has been reported and given the name Goundry. This subgroup has not yet been elevated to species status. [23]
Anopheles is a genus of mosquito first described by J. W. Meigen in 1818, and are known as nail mosquitoes and marsh mosquitoes. Many such mosquitoes are vectors of the parasite Plasmodium, a genus of protozoans that cause malaria in birds, reptiles, and mammals, including humans. The Anopheles gambiae mosquito is the best-known species of marsh mosquito that transmits the Plasmodium falciparum, which is a malarial parasite deadly to human beings; no other mosquito genus is a vector of human malaria.
Stegomyia is a large subgenus of the mosquito genus Aedes with 131 species classified in six species groups, two groups of which are further divided into subgroups.
Ochlerotatus is a genus of mosquito. Until 2000, it was ranked as a subgenus of Aedes, but after Reinert's work, the clade was upgraded to the level of a genus. This change has resulted in the renaming of many subgenus species, and many aedini-related taxa are undergoing taxonomic revisions. Some authors are still using traditional taxonomic names in their publications.
Anopheles (Cellia) subpictus is a species complex of four species of mosquito belonging to the genus Anopheles.
Mansonia mosquitoes are large black or brown mosquitoes with sparkling on their wings and legs. They breed in ponds and lakes containing certain aquatic plants, especially the floating type like Pistia stratiotes and water hyacinth. The eggs are laid in star-shaped clusters on the undersurface of leaves of these plants. The larvae and pupae are found attached to the rootlets of these plants by their siphons. They obtain their air supply from these rootlets. When preparing to transform into adults, these pupae come to the surface of water and the fully formed adults emerge and escape. The control of Mansonia mosquitoes accomplished by removal or destruction of the aquatic host plants by herbicides.
Pseudoficalbia is a subgenus of the mosquito genus Uranotaenia with 146 species. It was originally created as a genus by Frederick Vincent Theobald in 1911 ; however, it was later treated as a subgenus of Uranotaenia, and then was made a synonym of the same genus. It was later restored as a subgenus by E.L. Peyton in 1972.
Uranotaenia is a subgenus of the mosquito genus Uranotaenia with 121 species:
Lutzia is a genus of mosquitos. First described in 1903 by Frederick Vincent Theobald, it includes species whose larval stages exhibit predatory behavior. The type species is Lutzia bigoti.
The subgenus Kerteszia are Neotropical anopheline mosquitoes originally described in 1905 by Frederick V. Theobald as genus Kertészia with Kertészia boliviensis as the type species.
Sabethes or canopy mosquitos are primarily an arboreal genus, breeding in plant cavities. The type species is Sabethes locuples, first described by Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy in 1827.
Wyeomyia is a genus of mosquitoes first described in 1901 by Frederick Vincent Theobald. The genus's 140 species can be difficult to characterize because of their diversity and the need for additional taxonomic work to further delineate them. Adults resemble genus Limatus and Sabethes mosquitoes more closely than other genera in the New World tribe Sabethini, but differ by their scutal scales ranging in color from a relatively dull bronzy with a slight metallic sheen in most species, to a metallic gold. There are other distinguishing characters as well.
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Rampa Rattanarithikul is a Thai entomologist and taxonomist. She is a leading expert on mosquitoes, having discovered 24 new species and identifying at least 420 during her career. She was the lead author of the six-volume Illustrated Keys to the Mosquitoes of Thailand. The mosquito species Anopheles rampae and Uranotaenia rampae are named for her.
Tripteroides is a genus of mosquitoes belonging to the family Culicidae. It is a large and complex assemblage of 122 species and 5 subgenera. Species are distributed from India to Japan, and south to Australia including the islands of southeast Asia and the South Pacific. The species comprising the genus are highly diverse, and the relationships among Tripteroides and Trichoproposon species remain unresolved as many characters overlap. The taxonomic status of this genus urgently needs revision to better understand the relationships among the species and to improve the classification of the genus.