Bionomics, cont.
Not yet available
Medical Importance, cont.
Cellia is the largest subgenus with all species occurring in the Old World. The subgenus is divided into six Series (Cellia, Neocellia, Myzomyia, Neomyzomyia, Paramyzomyia, and Pyretophorus). Each series contains vectors of malarial protozoa and microfilariae. The most important malaria vectors include An. arabiensis, An. funestus, An. gambiae, and An. moucheti in the Afrotropical Region; An. balabacensis, An. culicifacies, An. dirus, An. leucosphyrus, An. maculatus, An. minimus, An. fluviatilis, An. sundaicus, and An. superpictus in the Oriental Region; An. farauti and An. punctulatus in the Australasian Region; An. sergentii and An. stephensi in the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent.
The subgenus Anopheles is also divided into six series, but only the Myzorhynchus and Anopheles Series contain vector species. Some primary vectors of historical and contemporary importance in the transmission of malarial protozoa include An. freeborni in western North America, An. sinensis in southeastern areas of the Palaearctic Region, An. atroparvus in Europe and eastern Asia, and An. pseudopunctipennis at higher elevations in Central and South America.
The subgenus Nyssorhynchus contains species which are variously distributed from Argentina to the southern USA. Anopheles albimanus, An. aquasalis, An. argyritarsis, An. darlingi, and An. nuneztovari are vectors of malarial protozoa. Anopheles albitarsis and An. aquasalis also transmit arboviruses, and some species also transmit Wuchereria bancrofti.
The subgenus Kerteszia occurs in Central and South America. Six species are known to transmit malarial protozoa, but only An. bellator in Trinidad and An. cruzii in Brazil are important vectors. Anopheles bellator also transmits the helminths that cause Bancroftian filariasis.
The remaining subgenera, Stethomyia and Lophopodomyia, occur in the Neotropical Region. The species of these subgenera are not of medical importance to humans.
For references on Anopheles, see WRBU's Mosquito Catalog