Anopheles tenebrosus Dönitz, 1902

Coetzee, Maureen, 2022, Literature review of the systematics, biology and role in malaria transmission of species in the Afrotropical Anopheles subgenus Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae), Zootaxa 5133 (2), pp. 182-200 : 192

Anopheles tenebrosus Dönitz, 1902

1928. Anopheles mauritianus var. tenebrosus of Edwards

1936. Anopheles coustani var. tenebrosus of de Meillon

TYPE LOCALITY: Wadi Natrun , Egypt .

DESCRIPTION:

Wing length: 5.0 mm.

Wing ( Fig. 9a ): Similar to An. ziemanni but apical pale fringe spot may be reduced, subcostal pale spot sometimes absent, and rarely, costa entirely dark.

Maxillary palpus: Shaggy, with four pale bands.

Legs ( Fig. 9b ): Apex of foretibia and base of foretarsomere 1 always dark. Apex of hindtibia narrowly pale; hindtarsomere 1 entirely dark basally; hindtarsomeres 4 and 5 pale, 0.5 of hindtarsomere 3 pale.

LARVAL HABITAT: Natural collections of clear water with aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation, such as swamps, ponds, backwaters of streams, springs, ditches and rice fields. In laboratory experiments, Coetzee & le Sueur (1988) showed that 39.5% of 1,710 An. tenebrosus eggs survived to fourth-instar larvae in 25% seawater, suggesting that the species could occupy a broader range of larval habitats than previously thought.

ADULT BIOLOGY: Cattle-feeding tendencies were confirmed in Ethiopia ( Habtewold et al. 2004; Zeru et al. 2020). Long considered unimportant in the transmission of malaria parasites, this was confirmed by recent studies in Egypt ( Morsy et al. 1995) and Mozambique ( Charlwood et al. 2013; S. Irish, personal communication). Aranda et al. (2005) in southern Mozambique collected 43 An. tenebrosus in a light trap and reported “a few” positive for circumsporozoite protein “albeit with low optical density values”. No further data were provided, and this requires confirmation.

DISTRIBUTION: Widespread and abundant throughout eastern and southern Africa, including Angola. The presence of An. tenebrosus in Gabon was confirmed by Paupy et al. (2013) who caught three specimens in a light trap in the La Lekedi wildlife park. Also known from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, eastern and southwestern Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Dhofar coast of Oman ( Evans 1938; Peffly 1959; Gillies & de Meillon 1968; Glick 1992; Morsy et al. 1995; Abdullah & Merdan 1995).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Anopheles tenebrosus: a, wing; b, hindleg (from Gillies & de Meillon 1968).