Six new species of the Anopheles leucosphyrus group, reinterpretation of An. elegans and vector implications

Abstract

Among Oriental anopheline mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), several major vectors of forest malaria belong to the group of Anopheles (Cellia) leucosphyrus Dönitz. We have morphologically examined representative material (> 8000 specimens from seven countries) for taxonomic revision of the Leucosphyrus Group. Six new species are here described from adult, pupal and larval stages (with illustrations of immature stages) and formally named as follows: An. latens n. sp. (= An. leucosphyrus species A of Baimai et al., 1988b), An. cracens n. sp., An. scanloni n. sp., An. baimaii n. sp. (formerly An. dirus species B, C, D, respectively), An. mirans n. sp. and An. recens n. sp. Additionally, An. elegans (James) is redescribed and placed in the complex of An. dirus Peyton & Harrison (comprising An. baimaii, An. cracens, An. dirus, An. elegans, An. nemophilous Peyton and Ramalingam, An. scanloni and An. takasagoensis Morishita) of the Leucosphyrus Subgroup, together with An. baisasi Colless and the An. leucosphyrus complex (comprising An. balabacensis Baisas, An. introlatus Baisas, An. latens and An. leucosphyrus). Hence, the former Elegans Subgroup is renamed the Hackeri Subgroup (comprising An. hackeri Edwards, An. pujutensis Colless, An. recens and An. sulawesi Waktoedi). Distribution data and bionomics of the newly defined species are given, based on new material and published records, with discussion of morphological characters for species distinction and implications for ecology and vector roles of such species. Now these and other members of the Leucosphyrus Group are identifiable, it should be possible to clarify the medical importance and distribution of each species. Those already regarded as vectors of human malaria are: An. baimaii[Bangladesh, China (Yunnan), India (Andamans, Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal), Myanmar, Thailand]; An. latens[Borneo (where it also transmits Bancroftian filariasis), peninsular Malaysia, Thailand]; probably An. cracens (Sumatra, peninsular Malaysia, Thailand); presumably An. scanloni (Thailand); perhaps An. elegans (the Western Ghat form of An. dirus, restricted to peninsular India); but apparently not An. recens (Sumatra) nor An. mirans[Sri Lanka and south-west India (Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu)], which is a natural vector of simian malarias. Together with typical An. balabacensis, An. dirus and An. leucosphyrus, therefore, the Leucosphyrus Group includes about seven important vectors of forest malaria, plus at least a dozen species of no known medical importance, with differential specific distributions collectively spanning > 5000 km from India to the Philippines.

Human Infections and Detection of Plasmodium knowlesi

“…The vectors of knowlesi malaria are forest-dwelling mosquitoes that belong to the Anopheles leucosphyrus group, and their distribution in Southeast Asia largely overlaps that of long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques (77,78) (Fig. 1).…”

The Global Public Health Significance of Plasmodium vivax

“…P. vivax and P. falciparum are commonly found in An. baimaii (Sallum et al, 2005;Obsomer et al, 2007), but original sources do not differentiate the members of the Dirus Complex (Prakash et al, 2001). An.…”

“…latens, which was commonly misidentified as its sister species An. leucosphyrus (Sallum et al, 2005). …”

Indigenous Plasmodium ovale Malaria in Bangladesh

“…26 The limited distribution of mosquitoes of the Anopheles leucosphyrus group, the only known vector of P. knowlesi , restricts the current distribution of P. knowlesi to a limited area in Southeast and parts of South Asia, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. 27,28 The primary aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of all five malaria species among febrile patients in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh with special emphasis on the three rare malaria species. Malaria diagnosis.…”