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Anopheles bwambae sp.n., a malaria vector in the Semliki Valley, Uganda, and its relationships with other sibling species of the A n.gambiae complex (Diptera: Culicidae)
Author(s) -
WHITE G. B.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
systematic entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1365-3113
pISSN - 0307-6970
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3113.1985.tb00155.x
Subject(s) - biology , sibling species , polytene chromosome , vector (molecular biology) , species complex , zoology , anopheles gambiae , wuchereria bancrofti , filariasis , allopatric speciation , malaria , ecology , genetics , chromosome , helminths , phylogenetic tree , population , gene , immunology , demography , sociology , recombinant dna
. The name Anopheles bwambae is proposed for the taxon previously called species D of the An.gambiae complex. This sibling species is known only from the vicinity of Buranga hot springs in Bwamba County, Toro District, Uganda, where it breeds in brackish water from geothermal springs together with other halophilic mosquitoes (Ae.albocephalus, Ae.natwnius, Cx.tenagius). An.bwambae adults inhabit the Semliki Forest, where the natural hosts are unknown, but they also enter houses in nearby villages and bite human beings avidly. Plasmodium sporozoites and developing larvae of Wuchereria bancrofti were found in An.bwambae females, so it is assumed that this species of vector contributes locally to transmission of human malaria and filariasis (together with An.funestus, An.gambiae and An.arabiensis). The specific diagnosis of An.bwambae depends upon (i) the presence of fixed inversion 3La and polymorphic inversions 2R1 and 3Rb of the karyotype, as interpreted from ovarian polytene chromosomes, (ii) a fast fixed allozyme of super‐oxide dismutase (Sod‐105), (iii) female palpi with broader pale apical band and narrower dark sub‐apical band than for other sibling species. Cytotaxonomically An.bwambae has the same X‐chromosome banding pattern as An.quadriannulatus and An.melas; the latter also has autosomal inversion 3La and therefore appears to be the sister‐species of An.bwambae. An identification key is given to the six named sibling species of the An.gambiae complex.