We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures!
Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Anopheles gambiae is the most efficient vector of human malaria in the Afrotropical Region (CDC 2010). Thus, it is commonly called the African malaria mosquito. The Anopheles gambiae complex of sibling species (White 1974; Fanello et al. 2002; Coetzee et al. 2013) comprises eight reproductively isolated species that are almost indistinguishable morphologically: Anopheles amharicus Hunt et al. 2013, Anopheles arabiensis Patton 1905, Anopheles bwambae White 1985, Anopheles gambiae Giles 1902, Anopheles coluzzii Coetzee & Wikerson 2013, Anopheles melas Theobald 1903, and Anopheles merus Dönitz 1902. Collectively they are sometimes called Anopheles gambiae sensu lato, meaning ‘in the wider sense.’ None of these species occur in North America.
Figure 1. Female Anopheles gambiae Giles taking a blood meal. Photograph by Jim Gathany, CDC.
Available at: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/aquatic/Anopheles_gambiae.htm
Authors: Sabrina A. White and Phillip E. Kaufman, University of Florida
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