What's New?

March 2024:

January 2024:

  • (6 Jan) Addition of Anopheles (Anopheles) sarpangensis Somboon, Namgay & Harbach, 2024 (in Somboon et al., 2024), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,725.
  • (2 Jan) Addition of Culex (Melanoconion) organaboensis Talaga & Duchemin, 2023 and Cx. (Mel.) zabanicus Talaga & Duchemin, 2023, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,724. NOTE: These species were described and named in the first issue of the Journal of Vector Ecology for 2024. Although the paper indicates that is was published in 2024, the issue in which it appears was actually published on 21 December 2023. To satisfy the Principle of Priority, the new species names must be listed as having been published in 2023.

December 2023:

  • (13 Dec) Addition of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) ibiapabaensis (Sant’Ana & Sallum, 2023) and Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) untii (Sant’Ana & Sallum, 2023), originally Nyssorhynchus (Nyssorhynchus) ibiapabaensis Sant’Ana & Sallum and Nyssorhynchus (Nyssorhynchus) untii Sant’Ana & Sallum, respectively, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,722.

November 2023:

  • (1 Nov) In June, when 99 species were validated by Harbach & Wilkerson (2023), those species were highlighted in yellow in the list of Valid Species, but those recognized as species of Aedes in the traditional classification of the genus were not included in the list of Valid Species (composite Aedes). They are now added to the list, highlighted in yellow (see under Valid Species).

October 2023:

  • (17 Oct) Transfer of Anopheles (Anopheles) donaldi Reid, 1962 from the Barbirostris Subgroup to the Barbirostris Complex (see Anopheles classification) based on the similarity of ITS2 sequences with other species of the complex. Also, based on molecular and morphological data, the informal An. barbirostris species A3 is An. hodgkini Reid, 1962, a member of the Barbirostris Subgroup (see Somboon et al., 2023 for details).

July 2023

  • (27 Jul) Addition of Aedimorphus stenostylus (Cornel, Kowo & Mayi, 2023) (in Kowo et al., 2023) [Aedes (Aedimorphus) stenostylus Cornel, Kowo & Mayi, 2023 in the traditional classification of Aedes], bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,719. The species is described from 15 males collected in forest in Cameroon. Additionally, the authors proposed a new subspecies, as Aedes leptolabis ssp. talangayensis Cornel, Kowo & Mayi, based on 17 males also collected in forest in Cameroon. However, the authors apparently were not aware that subspecies are no longer recognised as valid taxa in culicid classification (Harbach & Wilkerson, 2023). As they did not explicitly indicate how the proposed subspecies differs from the presumed nominotypical form, which is previously recorded from Cameroon (Wilkerson et al., 2021), the presumed subspecies is not distinguished from leptolabis s.s. in their key to males of species of the “Domesticus group”, and the larva and pupa are unknown, which precludes comparison with those of leptolabis s.s. (van Someren, 1956), talangayensis Cornel, Kowo & Mayi, 2023 is treated here as a synonym of leptolabis Edwards, 1936 until proven otherwise.
  • (27 Jul) Addition of a page for Culex subgenus Lasioconops Theobald, 1903, with Cx. poicilipes (Theobald, 1903), removed from subgenus Oculeomyia Theobald, 1907, as the only included species.
  • (17 Jul) Addition of a page for subgenus Orohylomyia Somboon & Harbach, 2023 (in Somboon et al., 2023): described as a new subgenus in the “traditional” classification of genus Aedes established by Wilkerson et al. (2015), with Ae. yunnanensis (Gaschen, 1934) as the only included species. The subgenus is classified as subgenus ‘Orohylomyiasensu auctorum of genus ‘Aedessensu auctorum in the phylogenetic classification of Aedini established by Reinert et al. (2009).

June 2023:

  • (16 Jun) Addition of 99 species ‒ 96 nominal taxa elevated from subspecific to specific status and three nominal species removed from synonymy and revalidated by Harbach & Wilkerson (2023) ‒ bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,718. [Note: Culiseta minnesotae Barr, 1957 and Cs. nipponica La Casse & Yamaguti, 1950, both placed in synonymy with Cx. ochroptera (Peus, 1935) by Berlov & Kuberskaya (2023), were listed as valid species herein prior to Harbach & Wilkerson. Those authors also revalidated a fourth species, Anopheles peruvianus Tamayo, 1907, but as a nomen dubium. Including Cs. minnesotae, Cs. nipponica and the nomen dubium, Harbach & Wilkerson elevated 102 nominal taxa to specific rank.] See the Conspectus of taxonomic changes included in the monograph of Harbach & Wilkerson. The newly recognized species are highlighted in yellow in the list of Valid Species.
  • (6 Jun) Addition of Shannoniana huasteca Ortega, 2023 (in Ortega-Morales et al., 2023), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,619.

March 2023:

January 2023:

November 2022:

  • (27 Nov) Addition of Culex (Culex) kodaikanalensis Suman, Veer & Chandra, 2022 (in Suman et al., 2022), bring the number of extant Valid Species to 3,619.
  • (11 Nov) Addition of Downsiomyia rajaveli Natarajan, Gopalakrishnan, Kumar & Kumar, 2022 [Aedes (Downsiomyia) rajaveli (Natarajan, Gopalakrishnan, Kumar & Kumar, 2022) in the traditional classification of Aedini], bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,618.
  • (7 Nov) Addition of three new species of Culex (Melanoconion), Cx. (Mel.) hutchingsae Talaga, Cx. (Mel.) lucackermanni Talaga and Cx. (Mel.) sallumae Talaga (in Talaga & Gendrin, 2022), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,617.

August 2022:

  • (18 Aug) Addition of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) rondoniensis (Sant’Ana & Sallum, 2022), originally Nyssorhynchus (Nyssorhynchus) rondoniensis Sant’Ana & Sallum, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,614.
  • (15 Aug) Eretmapodites brevis Edwards, 1941, originally described as a subspecies of Er. plioleucus Edwards, 1941 and listed as a subspecies in the lexicon of Harbach (2018) and the recent catalogue of Wilkerson et al. (2021), was elevated to specific status by da Cunha Ramos et al. (1992), who stated that “E. brevis Edwards must be elevated to species rank, as it was shown by Hamon & Lambrecht (1959).” Hamon & Lambrecht (1959) provided the following evidence for this taxonomic act (translated from the French): “In the same collection there was a male of Eretmapodites plioleucus Edwards which corresponded neither to the subspecies plioleucus nor to the subspecies brevis Edwards (fig. 2). The main difference was in the basal lobe showing a dozen long pointed setae inserted just anterior to their apex instead of three, but close examination of the type of E. plioleucus plioleucus allowed us to observe the presence of eight of these setae on each basal lobe. We therefore believe that our specimen belongs to this subspecies whose type form extends from Kumasi and Obuasi (Ghana) to Irangi (Kivu). The subspecies E. p. brevis described from Stanleyville is therefore probably in fact a distinct species since it coexists in the Congolese basin forest with E. p. plioleucus.” Thus, the recognition of Er. brevis as a distinct species brings the number of extant Valid Species to 3,613.
  • (15 Aug) Addition of Wyeomyia (Decamyia) monticola Ribeiro, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, 2022 (in Ribeiro et al., 2022), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,612.

July 2022:

June 2022:

  • (26 Jun) Links to references and taxa are re-established throughout the site. Users will note that links to morphological terminology are not indicted and terms that should not be linked are indicated by “ … ”. Additionally, most illustrations in the Anatomical Glossary are extremely large and appear as a blurred background. To see the illustrations, simply click on the blurred background or “Read more” at the bottom left of the character selected and displayed. IT are working to resolve these problems.
  • (6 Jun) Addition of three new species of the Educator Group of Culex (Melanoconion), Cx. angularis Sá & Sallum, Cx. longistriatus Sá & Hutchings and Cx. spiniformis Sá & Hutchings (in et al., 2022) and three new species of the Lindesayi Complex of Anopheles (Anopheles), An. druki Somboon, Namgay & Harbach, An. himalayensis Somboon, Namgay & Harbach and An. thimphuensis Somboon, Namgay & Harbach (in Somboon et al., 2022), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,603.

May 2022:

  • (25 May) Addition of Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) bhutanensis Somboon, Nambay & Harbach, 2022, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,597.
  • (13 May) Previously overlooked, Tripteroides (Tripteroides) bambusa yaeyamensis Tanaka, Mizusawa & Saugstad, 1979 was raised to specific status by Toma et al. (2019) based on morphological distinction, allopatry, sterile reciprocal cross-mating and divergence of the COI gene from the nominate form. The specific status of Tp. yaeyamensis brings the number of extant Valid Species to 3,596.
  • (10 May) Addition of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) jamariensis (Sant'Ana & Sallum, 2022), originally Nyssorhynchus (Nyssorhynchus) jamariensis Sant'Ana & Sallum, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,595.
  • (4 May) Addition of Topomyia (Suaymyia) puehensis Miyagi, Toma & Okazawa, 2022 (in Miiyagi et al., 2022), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,594.

April 2022:

  • (30 Apr) Sallum et al. (2022) found that Culex chrysothorax (Newstead & Thomas, 1910), nomen dubium, is conspecific with Cx. trigeminatus Clastrier, 1970. Because Cx. chrysothorax (Newstead & Thomas, 1910) is preoccupied by Cx. chrysothorax (Peryassú, 1908), also nomen dubium, and Cx. trigeminatus is an available name, it is recognised as a synonym of that species, which the authors transferred from the Educator to the Atratus Group of the subgenus Melanoconion.
  • (4 Apr) Addition of Aedimorphus suzannae (Boussès, 2022) (in Boussès et al., 2022) [Aedes (Aedimorphus) suzannae Boussès, 2022 in the traditional classification of Aedini] bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,593.

February 2022:

December 2021:

  • (21 Dec) Addition of Anopheles (Anopheles) bhutanensis Somboon, Namgay & Harbach, 2021 and An. (Ano.) monticola Somboon, Namgay & Harbach, 2021 (both in Somboon et al., 2021), bring the number of extant Valid Species to 3,591.
  • (17 Dec) Per Nascimento-Pereira et al., 2021: Synonymy of Sabethes (Peytonulus) paradoxus Harbach, 2002 { in Harbach & Howard, 2002) with Wyeomyia shannoni Lane & Cerqueira, 1942 and transfer to genus Sabethes as Sabethes (Peytonulus) shannoni (Lane & Cerqueira, 1942); as Sabethes (Sabethes) shannoni Cerqueira, 1961 is thus preoccupied, it is renamed Sabethes (Sabethes) cerqueirai Nascimento-Pereira, Neves, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, nom. n.; description of Sabethes (Peytonulus) harbachi Nascimento-Pereira, Guimarães, Lourenço-de-Oliveira & Motta, sp. n. With these actions, the number of extant Valid Species remains at 3,589.

November 2021:

October 2021:

Septermber 2021:

  • (17 Sep)  Addition of Topomyia (Topomyia) sarawakensis Miyagi, Toma & Okazawa, 2021 (in Miyagi et al., 2021), bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,587.

August 2021:

  • (12 Aug) Addition of the fossil mosquito Culex ekaterinae Gilka, Harbach & Perkosky, 2021 and changes to the fossil Culicidae based on the study of Krzeminski et al. (2019): transfer of cockerelli (Edwards, 1923), martinii Statz, 1944 and varivestita Statz, 1944 from Mansonia to Coquillettidia and protolepis (Cockerell, 1916) from genus uncertain to Ochlerotatus. As a result of these actions, the mosquito fossil record consists of 28 species belonging to 12 genera (six extinct and six extant).

July 2021:

June 2021:

May 2021:

April 2021:

  • (7 Apr) The replacement name Aedes (Paulianius) brucei Wilkerson, 2021 (in Wilkerson et al., 2021) was proposed for Aedes (Paulianius) hirsutus (Brunhes & Boussès, 2017), original combination Paulianius hirsutus Brunhes & Boussès. This specific name became a junior secondary homonym of Aedes (Aedimorphus) hirsutus (Theobald, 1901), original combination Culex hirsutum, when Wilkerson et al. (2015) reclassified the genus Paulianius Brunhes & Boussès, 2017 (in Brunhes et al., 2017) as a subgenus in genus Aedes Meigen, 1818, making it the senior secondary homonym. Thus, Ae. hirsutus (Brunhes & Boussès, 2017) is replace by Ae. brucei Wilkerson, 2021 in the traditional classification of Aedini.

March 2021:

  • (4 Mar) Addition of Harbach & Knight (2021): Taxonomists' glossary of mosquito anatomy (Harbach & Knight, 1980), annotated with corrections and additions (Harbach & Knight, 1982). The PDF, skilfully prepared by Stephen M. Smith, may be downloaded by anyone who wishes to have a copy for personal use. Users should be aware that the Anatomical Glossary on the main menu of the MTI includes some information that is not contained in Taxonomists’ Glossary. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is recommended for viewing the PDF (available free at https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/).
  • (1 Mar) Removal of Anopheles (Cellia) fontenillei Barrón et al., 2019 from the list of Valid Species, reducing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,583. The specific name fontenillei is not an available name because it was published in an electronic-only periodical (Science Reports) and was never registered in ZooBank. Thanks to Neal Evenhuis for pointing this out.

February 2021:

January 2021:

  • (21 Jan) Addition of a page for subgenus Reinertia Somboon, Namgay & Harbach, 2021 (in Somboon et al., 2021): described as a new subgenus in the “traditional” classification of genus Aedes established by Wilkerson et al. (2015), with Ae. suffusus Edwards (1922) as the only included species. The subgenus is classified as subgenus ‘Reinertiasensu auctorum of genus ‘Ochlerotatussensu auctorum in the phylogenetic classification of Aedini established by Reinert et al. (2009).

December 2020:

  • (26 Dec) Addition of Ochlerotatus (Ochlerotatus) arundinariae (Kasper, 2020) [Aedes (Ochlerotatus) arundinariae Kasper, 2020 in the traditional classification of Aedini] bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,582.
  • (7 Dec) Three new species of Culex (Melanoconion), Cx. (Mel.) aphyllus Talaga, Cx. (Mel.) inextricabilis Talaga and Cx. (Mel.) kazanjii Talaga, were described in Talaga et al. (2020). The authors also synonymised three nominal species: Cx. (Mel.) patientiae Floch & Fauran, 1955 with Cx. (Mel.) theobaldi (Lutz, 1904); Cx. (Mel.) vidali Floch & Fauran, 1954 with Cx. (Mel.) phlogistus Dyar, 1920 and Cx. (Microculex) reginae Floch & Fauran, 1955 with Cx. (Mel.) zeteki Dyar, 1918. The total number of extant Valid Species remains unchanged, i.e. 3,581. Culex aphyllus is placed in the Educator Group; Cx. inextricabilis and Cx. kazanjii are members of the Distinguendus Group, the former in the Putumayensis Subgroup and the latter is not assigned to a Subgroup. Culex dolichophyllus Clastrier, 1970 is transferred from the Iolambdis Subgroup of the Bastagarius Group to the Evansae Group (see the classifications of Subgenus Microculex and Subgenus Melanoconion).

November 2020:

  • (22 Nov) Mimomyia martinei (Doucet, 1951), originally described as a species of Ficalbia (Etorleptiomyia), was treated as a species of subgenus Ingramia in the revisionary studies of Mattingly & Grjebine (1958, as subgenus Ravenalites of Ficalbia) and Grjebine (1986, as subgenus Ingramia of Mimomyia). Despite this, Service (1990) chose to follow Doucet in treating Mi. martinei as a member of subgenus Etorleptiomyia, even though he admitted it is difficult to know whether it belongs in Etorleptiomyia or Ingramia. The species has been listed as a species of subgenus Etorleptiomyia since Ward (1992), who credited Service (1990) for placing it in that subgenus. As Service ignored the revisionary works of Mattingly & Grjebine (1958) and Grjebine (1986), his removal of Mi. martinei from Ingramia was unjustified, and it is herein returned to that subgenus.
  • (15 Nov) Aedes (Ochlerotatus) dzeta Séguy, 1924 is removed from the list of valid species. This nominal species was synonymized with Aedes (Acartomyia) mariae (Sergent & Sergent, 1903) [= Acartomyia mariae in the phylogenetic classification] by Senevet & Andarelli (1954: 339) This reduces the number of extant Valid Species to 3,581.

October 2020:

  • (8 Oct) Addition of three species of Culex (Culiciomyia) described in Cornel et al. (2020): Cx. (Cui.) apicopilosus Cornel & Mayi, Cx. (Cui.) lanzaroi Cornel & Mayi and Cx. (Cui.) pseudosubaequalis Cornel & Mayi, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,582.

September 2020:

  • (26 Sep) (26 Sep) When Somboon et al. (2020) recognized Anopheles baileyi Edwards as a species complex, they obviously, but without direct statement, raised An. gigas simlensis (James, 1911) to specific status as a member of the Baileyi Complex (see the note for 8 Jun below). Thus, that action bring the number of extant Valid Species to 3,579.

August 2020:

  • (13 Aug) Redescription and transfer of Wyeomyia rorotai Senevet, Chabelard & Abonnenc from Subgenus Uncertain to subgenus Decamyia Dyar by Ribeiro et al. (2020).

July 2020:

  • (3 Jul) Talaga et al. (2020) synonymized Culex pseudojanthinosoma Senevet & Abonnenc, 1946 with Cx. duttoni Theobald, 1901, reducing the number of Valid Species to 3,578. The type material of Cx. pseudojanthinosoma, currently in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, was collected in Africa, misplaced among species of Psorophora from French Guiana and, consequently, its type locality has been listed incorrectly in catalogues as French Guiana.

June 2020:

  • (8 Jun) The classification of Subgenus Anopheles is updated to include the newly recognised Baileyi Complex (Somboon et al., 2020), which is separated from the Gigas Complex of Harrison et al. (1991). The Baileyi Complex consists of five species: An. baileyi Edwards (species A), species B, C and D, and An. simlensis James. The last species is transferred from the Gigas Complex.
  • (1 Jun) Addition of five species of Culex (Melanoconion) described in et al. (2020): Cx. (Mel.) columnaris Sá & Hutchings, Cx. (Mel.) comptus Sá & Sallum, Cx. (Mel.) longisetosus Sá & Sallum, Cx. (Mel.) longistylus Sá & Sallum and Cx. (Mel.) spinifer Sá & Sallum, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,579.

April 2020:

  • (21 Apr) The classification of Subgenus Anopheles is updated to include the revised concept of the Lindesayi Group (Namgay et al., 2020), in which the Lindesayi Complex of Harrison et al. (1991) is recognised as the Lindesayi Subgroup comprising the Gigas and Lindesayi Complexes. Anopheles lindesayi Giles consists of five species informally designated Species A, B, C. D and E, with Species A being the nominotypical species. The former subspecies of An. lindesayi, i.e. benguetensis King, 1931, cameronensis Edwards, 1929, japonicus Yamada, 1918 and pleccau Koidzumi, 1924, are elevated to species status, bringing the number of formally named extant Valid Species to 3,574.

January 2020:

  • (16 Jan) Addition of Heizmannia (Heizmannia) rajagopalani Natarajan, Eapen & Jambulingam, 2020, bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,570.
  • (15 Jan) Addition of Hulecoeteomyia bhutanensis (Somboon & Harbach, 2020) [in Somboon et al., 2020] [Aedes (Hulecoeteomyia) bhutanensis Somboon & Harbach, 2020 in the traditional classification of Aedes], bringing the number of extant Valid Species to 3,569.
  • (15 Jan) Fossil Culicidae: Addition of pages for species Coquillettidia adamowiczi Szadziewski, Sontag & Szwedo, 2019 and Coquillettidia gedanica Szadziewski, Sontag & Szwedo, 2019.

November 2019:

  • (18 Nov) Addition of Paraedes jambulingami Natarajan, 2019 [Aedes (Paraedes) jambulingami (Natarajan, 2019) in the traditional classification of Aedini], bringing the number of currently Valid Species to 3,568.

October 2019:

  • (21 Oct) Removal of Wyeomyia compta Senevet & Abonnenc, 1939 from the list of Valid Species and addition of Anopheles (Cellia) fontenillei Barrón et al., 2019, a member of the An. gambiae complex, to the list. The former nominal species was synonymised with Wyeomyia argenteorostris (Bonne-Wepster & Bonne, 1920) by Nascimento-Pereira et al. (2019). The total number of currently Valid Species remains at 3,567.

September 2019:

  • (3 Sep) Revision of Fossil Culicidae, to include: (1) Correction of geologic time periods to agree with the latest version (v2019/05) of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, with deletion of the obsolete term ‘Tertiary’, which was previously widely used for the geologic period from 66 to 2.6 Mya. (2) Addition of pages for the extinct genus Priscoculex Poinar, Zavortink & Brown, 2019 of Anophelinae and the species Priscoculex burmanicus Poinar, Zavortink & Brown, 2019.

August 2019:

  • (26 Aug) Addition of Ochlerotatus (Ochlerotatus) amateuri (Ortega & Zavortink, 2019) (in Ortega-Morales et al., 2019) and ‘Ochlerotatus (Protomacleaya)’ lewnielseni (Ortega & Zavortink, 2019) [Aedes (Ochlerotatus) amateuri Ortega & Zavortink and Aedes (Protomacleaya) lewnielseni Ortega & Zavortink, respectively, in the traditional classification of Aedini], bringing the number of currently Valid Species to 3,567.

June 2019:

February 2019:

  • (18 Feb) Addition of Toxorhynchites (Toxorhynchites) darjeelingensis Tyagi et al., 2015, bringing the number of currently Valid Species to 3,564. The paper by Tyagi et al. was not known until now because the journal in which it was published does not appear to be covered by indexing and abstracting services.

November 2018:

October 2018:

  • (25 Oct) The following three junior secondary homonyms are replaced with the new names proposed by Harbach (2018):
  1. Anopheles (Anopheles) intermedius (Chagas, 1908, in Peryassú, 1908), junior secondary homonym of intermedia Rothwell, 1907 and intermedius Shingarev, 1928, is replaced by medialis Harbach, 2018.
  2. In the traditional classification of the composite Aedes, Aedes (Aedimorphus) cumminsii mediopunctatus (Theobald, 1909), junior secondary homonym of Aedes (Stegomyia) mediopunctatus (Theobald, 1905), is replaced by mesostictus Harbach, 2018, and Aedes (Neomelaniconion) sylvaticus (Le Goff, Boussès & Brunhes, 2007), junior secondary homonym of sylvaticus Meigen, 1818 and sylvaticus Brunhes, 1983 (currently a synonym of Aedes (Paulianius) madagascarensis van Someren, 1949), is replaced by hylaius Harbach, 2018. Note: replacement names are not needed for these taxa in the phylogenetic classification of composite Aedes established by Reinert et al. (2009) where the former is a subspecies of Aedimorphus cumminsii (Theobald, 1903) and the latter is a species of the genus Neomelaniconion.
  • (25 Oct) Addition of three species which were buried in the literature and only recently discovered: Coquillettidia (Coquillettidia) saotomensis Lien, Lin, Lin & Tseng, 2008; Culiseta (Climacura) taiwanica Lien, Lin & Weng, 1999; Culiseta (subgenus uncertain) wui Lin, Tseng & Lien, 2008. These additions bring the number of currently Valid Species to 3,563.
  • (12 Oct) Addition of Heizmannia (Heizmannia) maximalepido Dong, Zhou & Dong, 2005, bringing the number of Valid Species to 3,560. Note: the name of this species was published as a nomen dubium by Dong et al. (2004) and was regarded as such until the publication by Dong et al. (2005) was recently found in the Europe PMC repository of life sciences literature.

June 2018:

April–May 2018:

  • Corrections and additions made to all taxon pages (extant genus- and family-group taxa).

March 2018:

  • (6 Mar) Numerous additions and changes made to the Phylogenetic relationships sections of genus-group taxa of Anophelinae and Aedini engendered by the studies of Foster et al. (2017) and Soghigian et al. (2017), respectively. Readers are invited to consider the comments in the Classification and Phylogenetic relationships sections of Anopheles.

February 2018:

  • (22 Feb) Psorophora (Grabhamia) pruinosa Martini, 1935 was synonymised with Ps. (Gra.) signipennis (Coquillett, 1904c) by Díaz Nájera (1965a, 1965b). This action was overlooked by later authors and was not recognised in the world catalog of Knight & Stone (1977). Thanks to Aldo Ortega-Morales for pointing this out this oversight. The synonymy reduces the number of Valid Mosquito Species to 3,556.

October 2017:

  • (17 Oct) The specific name of Psorophora (Grabhamia) insularia (Dyar & Knab) is corrected to its original spelling in the combination Janthinosoma insularius Dyar & Knab, 1906. The specific epithet insularius is a Latin masculine noun, meaning ‘a tenant of an insula’, standing in apposition to the neuter Janthinosoma. It was erroneously treated as an adjective and inappropriately emended to insularia in Edwards (1932), and henceforth in the catalogues of Stone et al. (1959) and Knight & Stone (1977).

September 2017

  • (22 Sep) Addition of page for genus Paulianius Brunhes & Boussès (in Brunhes et al., 2017), a new genus in tribe Aedini, including the following: (1) addition of three new species, Paulianius ambremontis Brunhes & Boussès, Pl. hirsutus Brunhes & Boussès and Pl. rodhaini Brunhes & Boussès; (2) transfer of Diceromyia coulangesi (Rodhain & Boutonnier), Di. grassei (Doucet), Di. madagascarensis (van Someren), Di. nivea (de Meillon) and Di. tiptoni (Grjebine) to Paulianius; (3) synonymy of Di. sylvatica (Brunhes) with Pl. madagascarensis (van Someren); bringing the number of Valid Mosquito Species to 3,557 and number of mosquito genera to 113. Paulianius, of course, would be considered a subgenus in the “traditional” classification of Aedes established by Wilkerson et al. (2015).
  • (11 Sep) Culex juppi, proposed by Dumas et al. (2016) does not fulfil the requirements for availability mandated by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (Articles 10–20) and is thus a nomen nudum.

June 2017

  • (6 Jun) Addition of Ochlerotatus sallumae (González & Reyes, 2017) (in González et al., 2017) [Aedes (Ochlerotatus) sallumae González & Reyes, 2017 in the traditional classification of Aedes], bringing the number of Valid Species to 3,555.

April 2017

  • (25 Apr) Synonymy of Culex (Culiciomyia) spiculothorax Bram, 1967 with Culex (Culiciomyia) sasai Kano, Nitahara & Awaya, 1954 by Phanitchakun et al. (2017), reducing the number of Valid Species to 3,554.

March 2017

February 2017

  • (23 Feb) Recognition of kobayashii Nakata, 1956, synonymised with alektorovi Stackelberg, 1943 by Danilov (1977), as a valid species based on its subsequent treatment as such by Tanaka et al. (1979) and Tanaka (2002)Bruceharrisonius kobayashii (Nakata, 1956) [Aedes (Bruceharrisonius) kobayashii Nakata, 1956 in the traditional classification of Aedes] ‒ bringing the number of Valid Species to 3,554.

January 2017

  • (3 Jan) Based on the study of Kengne et al. (2007), nigeriensis Evans, 1931 is a subspecies of Anopheles moucheti Evans, 1925 rather than a synonym of that species. Thanks to Rick Wilkerson for bringing this to my attention.

IMPORTANT TAXONOMIC CHANGES (other previous items of What's New? removed)

December 2016

  • (2 Dec) A sixth new species described in Peryassú (1908) (see below, 22 Nov) is incorrectly attributed to this author in the world catalogue of mosquitoes (Knight & Stone, 1977). The correct authorship of this species, Psorophora albigenu, as indicated by Peryassú, is Adolpho Lutz. The authorship of this species has been corrected in the Valid Species List and in the applicable taxon pages to Psorophora albigenu (Lutz).

November 2016

  • (22 Nov) The following names, proposed as species of Aedes Meigen, are removed from the Valid Species List and the applicable taxon pages: kolhapuriensis Sathe & Girhe, 2002; panchgangee Sathe & Girhe, 2002; sangitee Sathe & Girhe, 2002; and sangiti Girhe & Sathe, 2001. These are unavailable names (nomina nuda) because they fail to conform to Articles 16.4 and 72.3 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, which for names proposed after 1999 require fixation of a name-bearing type and a statement naming the collection in which it is deposited (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1999). The action reduces the total number of valid species to 3,548.
  • (22 Nov) Five of the new species described in Peryassú (1908) are incorrectly attributed to this author in the world catalogue of mosquitoes (Knight & Stone, 1977). The correct authorship of these species, as indicated by Peryassú, is as follows: Anopheles gilesi (Neiva), An. intermedius (Chagas), An. pseudomaculipes (Chagas), Coquillettidia albicosta (Chagas) and Megarhinus fluminensis Neiva (synonym of Toxorhynchites theobaldi Dyar & Knab). Whereas Edwards (1932) correctly listed Chagas as the author of An. intermedius and An. pseudomaculipes (he apparently overlooked the designated authorship of the other three), Stone et al. (1959) and Knight & Stone (1977) incorrectly listed Peryassú as the author of all five. The authorship of the first four species has been corrected in the Valid Species List and in the applicable taxon pages. Thanks to Richard Wilkerson for noting these errors.

September 2016

December 2015

  • (10 Dec) Misspelling of Catageiomyia lokojoensis (Service, 1959) corrected to Cg. lokojensis [= Aedes (Catageiomyia) lokojensis in the traditional classification of Aedini].

August 2015

  • (26 Aug) This site hosts the phylogenetic classification of tribe Aedini established by Reinert et al. (2009). In view of the aims of the MTI, this is the preferred classification. However, the site now also displays the modified “traditional classification” of the tribe recently proffered by Wilkerson et al. (2015). The phylogenetic classification remains the primary classification and the latter is provided as an alternative classification. Click here or navigate to “Aedini traditional classification” under “Classifications” on the MTI main menu for comments on the classification of Wilkerson et al. and reasons why it is included herein, with corrections to errors in their listings of formal and particularly informal taxonomic groups.

October 2014

  • (27 Oct) Aedimorphus syntheticus (Barraud, 1928), originally introduced as Aedes (Aedimorphus) syntheticus, is no longer a valid replacement name for Aedes (Aedimorphus) fisheri Barraud, 1928, non Dyar, 1917, which was described originally as Aedes fisheri. The specific name of fisheri Dyar is now recognised as a junior synonym of Ochlerotatus ventrovittis (Dyar, 1916). Because fisheri Barraud and fisheri Dyar now reside in different genera, Aedimorphus and Ochlerotatus respectively, syntheticus Barraud is no longer justified as a replacement name for the former. Consequently, Aedimorphus syntheticus (Barraud) has been replaced by Aedimorphus fisheri (Barraud) in the list of Valid Species.
  • (19 Oct) Aedimorphus stenoscutus (Edwards, 1912), originally proposed as a variety of Ochlerotatus minutus, = Catageiomyia minuta (Theobald, 1901), is a junior synonym of Aedimorphus africanus (Theobald, 1909), originally named Stenoscutus africanus. As explained by White (1975), Edwards (1912) transferred africanus Theobald from Stenoscutus to Ochlerotatus, which, at that time, became a junior secondary homonym of Oc. africanus (Newstead, 1907, in Newstead et al., 1907) [originally named Duttonia africana]. For this reason, Edwards proposed stenoscutus as a replacement name for africanus Theobald.
         Stone et al. (1959) listed africanus Theobald and stenoscutus Edwards as junior synonyms of Aedes (Aedimorphus) neobiannulatus (Theobald, 1910), originally named Reedomyia neobiannulata. However, because Stone et al. had overlooked the synonymy of neobiannulatus with tarsalis Newstead, 1907 by Edwards (1941), White (1975) designated the holotype of Reedomyia biannulata Theobald, 1907, objective synonym of neobiannulata and an established synonym of tarsalis Newstead, as the lectotype for Reedomyia neobiannulata Theobald, 1910, thus fixing both nominal species as synonyms of tarsalis Newstead.
         As a result of phylogenetic study, Reinert et al. (2009) resurrected Catageiomyia Theobald, 1903, from synonymy with Aedimorphus Theobald, 1903, to include tarsalis Newstead and 27 other species. As tarsalis Newstead is now a species of Catageiomyia, africanus Theobald (genus Aedimorphus) is no longer a junior secondary homonym of africana Newstead (genus Catageiomyia) and no longer requires a replacement name. Consequently, africanus (Theobald, 1909b), = africanus Theobald, 1910 listed by White, 1975, is a valid species of Aedimorphus and stenoscutus (Edwards, 1912) is its junior synonym. Because stenoscutus Edwards does not meet the conditions of prevailing usage (Article 23.9.01 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 1999), africanus Theobald, in the combination Aedimorphus africanus (Theobald, 1909), replaces Aedimorphus stenoscutus (Edwards, 1912) in the list of Valid Species.

March 2014:

  • (9 Mar) Hulecoeteomyia fluviatilis Leicester, 1908 is here recognised as the senior synonym of Hulecoeteomyia saxicola (Edwards, 1922), originally Aedes saxicola. Edwards introduced the name saxicola as a replacement for fluviatilis Leicester, 1908, non Lutz, 1904 (in Bourroul, 1904), which was described originally as Culex fluviatilis. Both fluviatilis Lutz and saxicola Edwards were recognised as species of Aedes (subgenera Ochlerotatus and Finlaya respectively) until Ochlerotatus was restored to generic rank, with Finlaya as a subgenus, by Reinert (2000). The species were removed from Ochlerotatus by Reinert et al. (2006) and placed in separate genera, with saxicola Edwards in Hulecoeteomyia and fluviatilis Lutz in Georgecraigius (Horsfallius). As fluviatilis Leicester and fluviatilis Lutz are no longer regarded as congeneric, saxicola Edwards is no longer justified as a replacement name for the latter. Consequently, Hulecoeteomyia saxicola (Edwards) has been replaced by Hulecoeteomyia fluviatilis Leicester in the list Valid Species.

August 2013:

  • (24 Aug) Synonymy of Anopheles paraliae Sandosham with Anopheles lesteri Baisas & Hu, 1936 based on genetic compatibility of cross-matings and low genetic distances of ITS2 (rDNA), COI and COII (mtDNA) sequences between the two nominal forms (Taai et al., 2013). Although Taai et al. intended to conduct further studies before “definitely concluding” that these forms were synonymous, the following statement unambiguously verifies the synonymy: “Our studies using crossing experiments between An. lesteri from Korea and An. paraliae from Thailand together with data on species distributions, morphological variants, cytology and comparative DNA sequence analyses have clearly indicated that they are conspecific within the taxon An. lesteri”. Hence, Anopheles paraliae is removed from the list of Valid Species, reducing the number of currently recognised mosquito species to 3,529.

July 2013:

  • (21 Jul) Mucidus (Pardomyia) nigrescens (Edwards, 1929) (in Paine & Edwards, 1929), originally described as Pardomyia aurantia variety nigrescens, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Mucidus (Pardomyia) painei (Knight, 1948), originally Aedes (Mucidus) aurantius painei. The name painei was introduced as a replacement for nigrescens Edwards, 1929, non Theobald, 1907, which was described originally as Aedes nigrescens. However, nigrescens Theobald, 1907 is a synonym of Culex (Eumelanomyia) malayi (Leicester, 1908) based on the recognition of the single male of the type series as the holotype of nigrescens by Sirivanakarn (1972) [note that Townson (1990) incorrectly attributed the lectotype designation of Culex (Eumelanomyia) castrensis Edwards, 1922 by Sirivanakarn (1972) to nigrescens Theobald, 1907]. Consequently, nigrescens Edwards, 1929 is not a homonym of nigrescens Theobald, 1907 and is not a justified replacement name for the latter; hence, Mucidus (Pardomyia) painei (Knight, 1948) has been replaced by Mucidus (Pardomyia) nigrescens (Edwards, 1929) in the list of Valid Species.
  • (19 Jul) Name changes in genus Verrallina as follow:
           Verrallina (Neomacleaya) ceylonica (Edwards, 1917), originally described as Aedes ceylonicus, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Verrallina (Neomacleaya) lankaensis (Stone & Knight, 1958), originally described as Aedes (Aedes) lankaensis and treated as a species of Aedes (Verrallina) by Reinert (1974) before Verrallina was restored to generic rank by Reinert (1999), with lankaensis (Stone & Knight) placed in subgenus Neomacleaya. Stone & Knight proposed lankaensis as a replacement name for ceylonicus Edwards, 1917, non ceylonica Theobald (1910), which was originally described as a variety of Culex (?) japonicus Theobald, 1901 and later synonymised with Aedes (Finlaya) chrysolineatus (Theobald, 1907) (Edwards, 1932; Knight, 1948). When Reinert et al. (2006) transferred chrysolineatus to genus Hulecoeteomyia Theobald, the synonymous ceylonica Theobald was automatically removed from Aedes and placed in Hulecoeteomyia. Because ceylonica Edwards and ceylonica Theobald are now placed in separate genera, Verrallina and Hulecoeteomyia respectively, lankaensis Stone & Knight is no longer justified as a replacement name for the former. Consequently, Verrallina lankaensis (Stone & Knight) has been replaced by Verrallina ceylonica (Edwards) in the list of Valid Species.
           Verrallina (Neomacleaya) taeniata (Leicester, 1908), originally described as Aioretomyia taeniata, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Verrallina (Neomacleaya) incertus (Edwards, 1922, 1922), originally described as Aedes (Aedes) incertus, treated as a species of Aedes (Neomacleaya) by Delfinado (1967) and a species of Aedes (Verrallina) by Reinert (1974) before Verrallina was restored to generic rank by Reinert (1999), with incerta (Edwards) placed in subgenus Neomacleaya. Edwards proposed incertus as a replacement name for taeniata Leicester, non Wiedemann, 1828, which was originally described as Culex taeniatus. The species described by Wiedemann has been recognised as a junior synonym of Culex aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 since Theobald (1905) listed it as a synonym of Stegomyia fasciata (Fabricius, 1805), which was originally described as Culex fasciatus. Culex fasciatus Fabricius and Culex taeniatus Wiedemann became synonyms of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) with the transfer of Stegomyia Theobald to subgeneric status in Aedes Meigen by Edwards (1917, 1932), and they became synonyms of Stegomyia aegypti (Linnaeus) when Stegomyia was restored to generic status by Reinert et al. (2004). As taeniata Leicester and taeniatus Wiedemann are no longer regarded as congeneric, incertus Edwards is no longer justified as a replacement name for the latter. Consequently, Verrallina incerta (Edwards) has been replaced by Verrallina taeniata (Leicester) in the list of Valid Species.
           Verrallina (Verrallina) bancrofti (Taylor, 1914), originally described as Skusea bancrofti, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Verrallina (Verrallina) cunninghami (Taylor, 1944), originally described as Aedes (Aedes) cunninghami and treated as a species of Aedes (Verrallina) by Reinert (1974) before Verrallina was restored to generic rank by Reinert (1999), with cunninghami (Taylor) placed in subgenus Verrallina. Taylor (1944) proposed cunninghami as a replacement name for bancrofti Taylor, 1914, non bancrofti Skuse (1889), which was originally described as Culex bancrofti. The species described by Skuse has been recognised as a junior synonym of Culex aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 since Theobald (1905) listed it as a synonym of Stegomyia fasciata (Fabricius, 1805), which was originally described as Culex fasciatus. Culex fasciatus Fabricius and Culex bancrofti Skuse became synonyms of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) with the transfer of Stegomyia Theobald to subgeneric status in Aedes Meigen by Edwards (1917, 1932), and they became synonyms of Stegomyia aegypti (Linnaeus) when Stegomyia was restored to generic status by Reinert et al. (2004). As bancrofti Skuse and bancrofti Taylor are no longer regarded as congeneric, cunninghami Taylor is no longer justified as a replacement name for the latter. Consequently, Verrallina cunninghami (Taylor) has been replaced by Verrallina bancrofti (Taylor) in the list of Valid Species.
  • (15 Jul) Aedimorphus taeniatus (Leicester, 1908), originally described as Lepidotomyia taeniata, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Aedimorphus orbitae (Edwards, 1922), originally described as Aedes orbitae and treated as a species of Aedes (Aedimorphus), since Edwards & Given (1928), until Aedimorphus Theobald was restored to generic status by Reinert et al. (2004). The name orbitae was introduced as a replacement for taeniata Leicester, non Wiedemann, 1828, which was originally described as Culex taeniatus. The species described by Wiedemann has been recognised as a junior synonym of Culex aegypti Linnaeus, 1762 since Theobald (1905) listed it as a synonym of Stegomyia fasciata (Fabricius, 1805), which was originally described as Culex fasciatus. Culex fasciatus Fabricius and Culex taeniatus Wiedemann became synonyms of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) with the transfer of Stegomyia Theobald to subgeneric status in Aedes Meigen by Edwards (1917, 1932), and they became synonyms of Stegomyia aegypti (Linnaeus) when Stegomyia was restored to generic status by Reinert et al. (2004). As taeniatus Wiedemann and taeniata Leicester are no longer regarded as congeneric, orbitae Edwards is no longer justified as a replacement name for the latter. Consequently, Aedimorphus orbitae (Edwards) has been replaced by Aedimorphus taeniatus (Leicester) in the list of Valid Species.

June 2013:

  • (23 Jun) Diceromyia nivea (de Meillon, 1943), originally described as Aedes (Diceromyia) niveus, is here recognised as the senior synonym of Diceromyia zethus (de Meillon & Lavoipierre, 1944). The name zethus was introduced as a replacement for niveus de Meillon., non Ludlow, 1903 (in Theobald, 1903), which was originally described as Stegomyia nivea and recognised as a species of Aedes (Finlaya) by Brug (1931) and later workers until it was transferred to genus Downsiomyia by Reinert et al. (2004). As niveus Ludlow and niveus de Meillon are no longer regarded as congeneric, zethus de Meillon & Lavoipierre is no longer justified as a replacement name for the latter. Consequently, Diceromyia zethus (de Meillon & Lavoipierre) has been replaced by Diceromyia nivea (de Meillon) in the list of Valid Species.

March 2013:

  • (9 Mar) Taxonomic note: Hodgesia cyptopus Theobald, 1909. White (1980) regarded the spelling of the name of this species as an unjustified emendation of the original spelling of cuptopous by Theobald. However, the original spelling is a combination of Latin and Greek forms: cypto- from the Greek kytpo- (meaning bent or curved) and pous from Greek (meaning foot). Logically, Theobald should have spelled the name as kyptopous, which when Latinized would be cyptopus (pus the Latin of the Greek pous). Because Theobald misspelled the first part of the name as cupto-, Edwards (1912) apparently corrected this to the Latin cypto- and changed the Greek pous to the Latin pus in agreement. Consequently, cyptopus is not an unjustified emendation of cuptopous.

June 2012:

  • (27 Jun) Anopheles krishnai: A nomen nudum. Sathe & Jagtap (2012) described a purported new species of the Anopheles maculatus group of the Neocellia Series, which they named Anopheles krishnai. Unfortunately, the paper does not provide credible evidence to support the recognition of a new species. The authors overlooked the extensive morphological and molecular work that has been done on the Neocellia Series in southern and southeastern Asia. Instead of contrasting the purported new species with members of this group, the authors conducted a molecular phylogenetic comparison with distantly related species of subgenera Nyssorhynchus in the Neotropical Region and Cellia in the Afrotropical Region (also one species, An. stephensi, from southern Asia). Needless to say, the comparison does not support the recognition of a new species within the Neocellia Series. Furthermore, in view of the current state of anopheline taxonomy, the immature stages as well as both sexes of the adults should have been described and contrasted with closely related species (in concert with molecular data) to ensure the validity of a new species. Not only have the authors failed to do this, they have not adequately fulfilled the criteria of availability for species names established by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature: (1) They provide a brief description and indicate that the species runs to An. maculatus in the key of Rao (1984) but there is no diagnosis or statement of morphological characters that differentiates the purported new species from related or similar taxa (Article 13.1). (2) They designate a holotype, but fail to state the name and location of the collection where it is or will be deposited (Article 16.4). For these reasons, the validity of the species is highly doubtful, and the name krishnai is hereby regarded as a nomen nudum.
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith