Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) unguiculata Edwards, 1913

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Turner, James & Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad, 2023, An overview of the mosquitoes of Saudi Arabia (Diptera: Culicidae), with updated keys to the adult females, Zootaxa 5394 (1), pp. 1-76 : 50-51

Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) unguiculata Edwards, 1913 ( Fig. 50 )

Type locality. Tiberias , Israel.

Distribution. This species is found in the Oriental and Palaearctic Regions ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East and North Africa, it has been recoded in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey ( Abdel-Malek 1960; Stone 1961; Wills et al. 1985; Harbach et al. 1989; Minář 1991; Amr et al. 1997; Alten et al. 2000; Brunhes et al. 2000; Knio et al. 2005; Rueda et al. 2008; Al Ahmad et al. 2011; Alahmed 2012; Sulesco et al. 2013; Tabbabi et al. 2017; Trari et al. 2017; Azari-Hamadian et al. 2019; Merdić et al. 2020; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Stone (1961).

Remarks. Uranotaenia unguiculata previously included two subspecies: Ur. unguiculata unguiculata and Ur. unguiculata pefflyi Stone, 1961 (type locality: Qatif Oasis, Al Hasa Province, Saudi Arabia) ( Harbach & Wilkerson 2023). The subspecies pefflyi was the only form of the species present in the eastern parts of Saudi Arabia ( Wills et al. 1985). Also Alahmed et al. (2019) mentioned that ‘it is unlikely that the typical form, Ur. unguiculata unguiculata , is present in the country’, but this is incorrect in view of the recent synonymy of pefflyi with unguiculata by Harbach & Wilkerson (2023). Melero-Alcíbar et al. (2010) re-described the pupa of the nominotypical species.

Medical importance. Uranotaenia unguiculata does not bite humans and it is not considered to be a medical risk ( Schaffner et al. 2010); however, West Nile virus has been isolated from females ( Pachler et al. 2014).

Figures

FIGURE 50. Uranotaenia unguiculata, female (Natural History Museum, London, photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).