Anopheles Meigen 1818
Creators: name: Dawah, Hassan A.
name: Abdullah, Mohammed A.
name: Ahmad, Syed Kamran
name: Turner, James
name: Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Culicidae
Anopheles

description: Key to the subgenera and species (adult females) of Anopheles in Saudi Arabia
1 Wing with fewer than 4 separate dark areas involving costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1); anterior margin of wing with 2 separate pale areas involving C, R and R 1, one about 0.67 from wing base and one near apex; lateral area of clypeus with a patch of projecting dark scales (subgenus Anopheles: Coustani Group)......................................... 2
– Anterior margin of wing with at least 4 separate dark areas involving C, R, and R 1 or wing entirely dark-scaled; clypeus without scales (subgenus Cellia) (Note 1)........................................................................ 3
2(1) Coxae with pale scales; hindtarsomere 1 broadly pale at base and apex; hindtarsomere 2 pale over about apical half; hindtarsomere 3 dark at base only or entirely pale................................................................. coustani
– Coxae without pale scales; hindtarsomere 1 narrowly pale at apex only; hindtarsomere 2 narrowly pale at apex only; hindtarsomere 3 pale over apical third to two-thirds.................................................. tenebrosus
3(1) Distal 0.5 of hindtarsomere 2 and all of hindtarsomeres 3–5 pale; forefemur mostly pale-scaled; mid- and hindfemur with longitudinal white line terminating in an oval spot................................................ pulcherrimus
– Distal 0.5 of hindtarsomere 2 and hindtarsomeres 3–5 not entirely pale; forefemur not pale-scaled, but may have pale spots; mid- and hindfemur without longitudinal white line, but may have pale spots..................................... 4
4(3) Maxillary palpus with 4 pale bands; abdominal terga II–VII with posterolateral dark scale-tufts............... pharoensis
– Maxillary palpus dark, or with at most 3 pale bands, pale spots may also be present; abdominal terga II–VII without dark scale-tufts, some posterolaterial dark scales may be present on distal segments......................................... 5
5(4) Maxillary palpus with 2 or 3 indistinct pale bands or entirely dark (Note 2)....................................... 6
– Maxillary palpus with at least 3 distinct pale bands.......................................................... 7
6(5) Erect head scales narrow, straw-yellow throughout.................................................... azaniae
– Erect head scales broad white on vertex and dark brown laterally and posteriorly.................... rupicolus (Note 3)
7(5) Hindtarsomere 5 pale......................................................................... pretoriensis
– Hindtarsomere 5 dark................................................................................. 8
8(7) Wing with pale spots confined to costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1); erect head scales narrow, straw-yellow throughout; scutum with setae only, no scales.................................................................... dthali
– Wing with pale spots present on nearly all veins; erect head scales broad, pale on vertex and dark laterally and posteriorly; scutum with obvious pale scales in addition to setae......................................................... 9
9(8) Palpomere 5 dark at apex............................................................................. 10
– Palpomere 5 pale at apex, or entirely pale................................................................. 12
10(9) Scutal fossa (SF) covered with scattered pale scales; base of costa (C) pale-scaled......................... multicolor
– Scutal fossa without scales; base of costa dark............................................................. 11
11(10) Wing generally pale, pale and dark areas apart from costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1) poorly contrasted posterior to R and R 1; anal vein (1A) with at most 2 indistinct dark spots, distal spot long, often appearing mostly dark-scaled; vein R without accessory sector dark spot....................................................................... turkhudi
– Wing with well-defind pale- and dark-scaled areas on all veins; vein 1A with 3 dark spots; vein R with accessory sector dark spot......................................................................................... cinereus
12(9) Scutum with broad pale scales on median area; upper proepisternal setae absent.................................. 13
– Scutum with narrow pale scales on median area; upper proepisternal setae present................................ 14
13(12) Femora and tibiae spotted with pale scales; abdominal terga II–VIII largely covered with pale scales; middle of maxillary palpomere 3 usually with some pale spots other than pale bands......................................... stephensi
– Femora and tibiae not spotted; abdominal terga without pale scales; maxillary palpomere 3 without pale spots................................................................................................... superpictus s.l.
14(12) Scutal fossa covered with scattered pale scales; hindtarsomeres 3 and 4 pale at apex............................... 15
– Scutal fossa without scales; hindtarsomeres 3 and 4 entirely dark.............................................. 16
15(14) Femora and tibiae with spots of pale scales; anal vein (1A) usually with 3 dark spots; radius (R) usually with distinct preaccessory sector dark spot.............................................................................. arabiensis
– Femora and tibiae not spotted; anal vein with 2 dark spots; radius usually without preaccessory sector dark spot.................................................................................................... subpictus s.l.
16(14) Radius (R) with a dark spot just distal to humeral crossvein; wing fringe usually with 1 or 2 inconspicuous pale spots on posterior margin, rarely more............................................................... culicifacies s.l.
– Radius without a dark spot just distal to humeral crossvein; wing fringe usually with at least 4 pale spots on posterior margin .................................................................................................. 17
17(16) Radius-four-plus-five (R 4+5) dark-scaled except at base and apex, occasionally with some pale scales in distal area; scutum unicolourous; frontal tuft poorly developed......................................................... sergentii
– Radius-four-plus-five with a distinct, large median pale area; scutum grey on top, darker at sides; frontal tuft well developed.................................................................................. fluviatilis s.l. (Note 4)
description: Published as part of 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, pp. 1-76 in Zootaxa 5394 (1) on pages 54-55, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5394.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10438079