Anopheles

A genus of mosquitoes (family Culicidae, subfamily Anophelinae). The sporogenous cycle of the malarial parasite is passed in the body cavity of female mosquitoes of certain species of this genus; a few selected vectors (from among over 90 species) are listed below. [G. a., useless, harmful, fr. an- priv. + opheleo, to be of use]

- A. aconitus mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.

- A. albimanus a species having white hind feet, a common carrier of the malaria parasite in the West Indies and Central America.

- A. albitarsus a South American species that transmits malaria.

- A. annularis mosquito species that is an incidental vector of malaria in India.

- A. annulipes mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Australia.

- A. aquasalis mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in the lesser Antilles, Trinidad, and Brazil.

- A. arabiensis mosquito species that is a principal vector of malaria in arid or montane areas across sub-Saharan Africa to Kenya and the Sudan.

- A. aztecus mosquito species that is a vector of malaria at higher elevations in Mexico.

- A. balabacensis a vector species in Southeast Asia, Burma, and India.

- A. barbirostris mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula.

- A. bellator mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Trinidad and Brazil.

- A. brunnipes mosquito species that is an incidental vector of malaria throughout tropical Africa.

- A. campestris mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Malaysia.

- A. crucians mosquito species that is a secondary or suspected vector of malaria, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and Eastern equine encephalitis within the United States.

- A. cruzi mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Brazil.

- A. culicifacies mosquito species that is a common malaria vector in India and Sri Lanka, China, and elsewhere in the Orient.

- A. darlingi a South American species, an important carrier of the malarial parasite.

- A. flavirostris mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in the Philippines, Java, and northern Celebes.

- A. fluviatilis a species that is an important vector in India and Pakistan.

- A. freeborni mosquito species that is a vector in the western U.S. (although endemic cases are no longer present).

- A. funestus an important African mosquito species that transmits malaria.

- A. gambiae an African mosquito species that is a most important vector of malaria.

- A. jeyporiensis mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in south China.

- A. karwari mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in New Guinea.

- A. kweiyangensis mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in Szechuan province in China.

- A. labranchiae mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria wherever found in the Palearctic region.

- A. lesteri mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in the lower Yangtze Valley in China.

- A. leucosphyrus mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in Borneo.

- A. maculatus mosquito species that is a vector in Malaysia and Indonesia.

- A. maculipennis the type species of this genus; its wings are marked by spots formed of collections of scales; one of the most widely spread species active in the dissemination of malaria (formerly an important vector in continental Europe).

- A. messeae mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in parts of Hungary and eastern Romania.

- A. minimus mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria wherever found throughout the Orient.

- A. pseudopunctipennis a South American vector mosquito species.

- A. quadrimaculatus mosquito species that was formerly an important carrier of malaria in the southern United States.

- A. stephensi a widespread mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in Asia.

- A. sundaicus mosquito species that is an important vector in the Orient and Southeast Asia.

- A. superpictus mosquito species that is an important vector in the Mediterranean region, Middle East, and southern Asia.

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anoph·e·les ə-'näf-ə-.lēz n

1) cap a genus of mosquitoes that includes all mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans

2) any mosquito of the genus Anopheles

anopheles adj

anoph·e·line -.līn adj or n

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n.

a genus of widely distributed mosquitoes, occurring in tropical and temperate regions, with some 350 species. The malarial parasite (see Plasmodium) is transmitted to humans solely through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. Some species of Anopheles may transmit the parasites of bancroftian filariasis.

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Anoph·e·les (ə-nofґə-lēz) [Gr. anōphelēs hurtful] 1. a large genus of mosquitoes of the tribe Anophelini, subfamily Anophelinae, characterized by long slender palpi, nearly as long as the proboscis, and by holding the body at an angle with the surface on which it rests while the head and proboscis are in line with the body. Many species are vectors of malaria, and some are vectors of Wuchereria bancrofti. It has been subdivided into several subgenera, including Cellia, Kerteszia, Nyssorhynchus, and one called Anopheles. 2. a subgenus of genus Anopheles.

Anopheles adult. (A), Female feeding, showing the characteristic head and body posture; (B), close-up of head showing the length of the palpi (red arrow) in relation to that of the proboscis (blue arrow).