Mansonia (Mansonioides) uniformis ( Theobald, 1901b )

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

Mansonia (Mansonioides) uniformis ( Theobald, 1901b) ( Fig. 49 )

Type locality. Quilon, Travancore, India .

Distribution. This species is found in the Afrotropical, Australasian, Oriental and Palaearctic Regions. In the Middle East, the species occurs in Iran ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2020) and Saudi Arabia ( Wills et al. 1985, as Mansonia sp. , see Remarks).

Remarks. Wills et al. (1985) recorded a species of Mansonia from an eastern province of Saudi Arabia, Al Hasa and Quatif, for the first time. In the absence of available specimens and the exact identification of the species, Alahmed et al. (2019) concluded that the species was Coquillettidia richiardii because the genus Coquillettidia was previously considered to be a subgenus of the genus Mansonia . We do not agree with that conclusion because Cq. richiardii is a Palaearctic species which is found in northern Iran, Syria and Turkey and is not recorded in southern Iran, Kuwait and other countries in the Arabian Peninsula. Most probably, the record of the genus Mansonia in Saudi Arabia by Wills et al. (1985) was correct. The present conclusion is supported by the recent record of Ma. uniformis in southeastern Iran ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2020).

Medical importance. Mansonia uniformis is a very important vector of pathogens responsible for infections of medical and veterinary importance in Africa, Asia and Australia. The species is a known vector of at least 35 viruses, nine species of filariae, and different species of avian and simian Plasmodium . Azari-Hamidian et al. (2020) reviewed the medical and veterinary importance of the species.

Figures

FIGURE 49. Mansonia uniformis, female (photo by Shahyad Azari-Hamidian, School of Health, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran).