Lutzia (Metalutzia) tigripes de Grandpré & de Charmoy, 1901

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 : 49

Lutzia (Metalutzia) tigripes de Grandpré & de Charmoy, 1901 ( Fig. 48 )

Type locality. Mauritius.

Distribution. This species is widespread in the Afrotropical Region ( Wilkerson et al. 2021). In the Middle East, it has been recorded in Saudi Arabia and Yemen ( Knight 1953b; Mattingly & Knight 1956; White 1980; van Harten & Wagener, 1994; Alahmed et al. 2009; Al Ahmad et al. 2011; Mutebi et al. 2012; Al Ashry et al. 2014; Tantely et al. 2016; Lemine et al. 2017; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Mattingly & Knight (1956), as Culex tigripes .

Remarks. In some older records of the Arabian Peninsula, the species was referred to as Cx. tigripes ( Knight 1953b; Mattingly & Knight 1956; Alahmed et al. 2009). Knight (1953b) noted some variation in the scaling of the scutum and abdominal sterna.

Medical importance. Lutzia tigripes is of no medical importance to humans ( Edwards 1941), although some virus isolations have been obtained from this species in Africa, including Babanki, Bobia, Kamese, Mossuril, Ntaya, Sindbis and West Nile virsuses ( Tantely et al. 2016).

Figures

FIGURE 48. Lutzia tigripes, female (Natural History Museum, London, photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).