Genus Cancraedes Edwards, 1929
Cancraedes cancricomes (Edwards, 1922), original combination: Aedes (Skusea) cancricomes.
Subfamily Culicinae, tribe Aedini. Cancraedes includes 10 species. Genus abbreviation – Ca.
ADULTS ‒ Rather small, dark mosquitoes. Females: Vertex with broad decumbent scales, with or without some inconspicuous pale scales laterally, erect scales at the back of head; eyes contiguous; maxillary palpus short, about 0.25 length of proboscis; proboscis longer than forefemur; antepronotum with loosely attached broad scales; acrostichal setae absent, dorsocentral setae well developed; paratergite bare; scutellar scales broad and flat; upper proepisternal, subspiracular, postspiracular, lower mesokatepisternal and mesepimeral scales absent; lower mesepimeral setae (2 or more) present; tarsi dark, ungues simple; hindtarsomere 1very nearly as long as hindtibia; squama with short and relatively scant fringe; alula with broad decumbent scales and sometimes a few narrow fringe scales; cell R2 1.2‒2.0 times as long as vein R2+3; anal vein (vein 1A) turned down sharply at apex to meet wing margin about level with base of mediocubital crossvein (except in Ca. mamoedjoensis); abdominal terga II‒VI with basolateral pale spots; sterna pale-scaled basally, sternum II sometimes entirely pale; tergum IX unusually long and narrow; one spermathecal capsule (3 in Ca. palawanicus). Males: Antenna never very strongly verticillate; maxillary palpus short as in female; squama bare; tergum IX without lobes, with or without setae; dorsomesal surface of gonocoxite with a slightly subapical, somewhat expanded area bearing an elongate projection with terminal spiniform(s), mesoventral surface of this area connected to dorsomesal area of claspette by a narrow sclerotised strip; gonostylus very small, attached subapically to gonocoxite; claspette complex, with several long dark more-or-less flattened spiniforms; lateral plates of aedeagus with one tooth; parameres very large. LARVAE ‒ Palatal brush filaments non-pectinate; antenna spiculate, seta 1-A with several branches;setae 5- and 6-C both with several branches, 6-C longer than seta 5- or 7-C; seta 4-C minute with several branches; comb with numerous uniformly fringed scales arranged in triangular patch; siphon short, acus present; pecten spines with distinct long denticles apically on ventral margin; seta 1-S short, branched, arising well beyond mid-length of siphon; saddle incomplete; ventral brush (seta 4-X) with 5 pairs of multi-branched setae on grid, with or without a small precratal seta; anal papillae short, globular. PUPAE ‒ Trumpet short, tracheoid at extreme base; seta 1-I well developed; setae 6,7-VII very small, seta 7-VIII well developed with several plumose branches; paddles ovate, apex slightly pointed, inner and outer margins with spicules; seta 1-Pa long, single; seta 2-Pa absent. See Aedini.
Cancraedes masculinus was strongly supported as the sister to Lorrainea + (Udaya + (Alanstonea + Eretmapodites)) in the cladistic study of Reinert et al. (2004), but its affinities changed in the later more comprehensive study of Reinert et al. (2009) due to the inclusion of additional morphological characters and taxa. In the later study, genera Skusea and Indusius were found in a paraphyletic relationship to Cancraedes, with Indusius the sister of Cancraedes. The monophyly of Cancraedes was supported by an extensive combination of 23 homoplastic characters. Cancraedes was recovered in a sister relationship to a polytomy comprised of Geoskusea, Levua, Rhinoskusea and Sallumia in the study of Wilkerson et al. (2015).
The immature stages of Cancraedes species are found in crab holes and ground-pools and holes in mangrove swamps. Females of a few species are attracted to humans (Ca. masculinus, Ca. thurmanae) and Ca. indonesiae and Ca. penghuensis are noted as fierce biters (Mattingly, 1958; Lien, 1968), the last species during daytime in shade. Nothing else is known about the biology of the adults other than females have been collected from cattle pens.
Species of Cancraedes are not known to be of medical or economic importance.
Cancraedes principally occur in the Oriental Region. Species are recorded from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi), Malaysia (Peninsular, Sarawak), Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
Mattingly, 1958 (as subgenus of Aedes, review); Mattingly, 1958 (as subgenus of Aedes, taxonomy); Reinert, 2000 (as subgenus of Aedes, female genitalia); Reinert et al., 2004 (as subgenus of Aedes, morphology, phylogeny); Reinert et al., 2009 (generic status, morphology, phylogeny); Rattanarithikul et al., 2010 (Thailand, keys, bionomics); Wilkerson et al., 2015 (as subgenus of Aedes, phylogeny).
cancricomes (Edwards, 1922) curtipes (Edwards, 1915) indonesiae (Mattingly, 1958) kohkutensis (Mattingly, 1958) mamoedjoensis (Mattingly, 1958) masculinus (Mattingly, 1958) palawanicus (Mattingly, 1958) penghuensis (Lien, 1968) simplex (Theobald, 1903) thurmanae (Mattingly, 1958)
