Abstract
BackgroundAnopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii is a primary vector of Plasmodium parasites in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Adult females of An. cruzii and An. homunculus, which is a secondary malaria vector, are morphologically similar and difficult to distinguish when using external morphological characteristics only. These two species may occur syntopically with An. bellator, which is also a potential vector of Plasmodium species and is morphologically similar to An. cruzii and An. homunculus. Identification of these species based on female specimens is often jeopardised by polymorphisms, overlapping morphological characteristics and damage caused to specimens during collection. Wing geometric morphometrics has been used to distinguish several insect species; however, this economical and powerful tool has not been applied to Kerteszia species. Our objective was to assess wing geometry to distinguish An. cruzii, An. homunculus and An. bellator.MethodsSpecimens were collected in an area in the Serra do Mar hotspot biodiversity corridor of the Atlantic Forest biome (Cananeia municipality, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil). The right wings of females of An. cruzii (n= 40), An. homunculus (n= 50) and An. bellator (n= 27) were photographed. For each individual, 18 wing landmarks were subjected to standard geometric morphometrics. Discriminant analysis of Procrustean coordinates was performed to quantify wing shape variation.ResultsIndividuals clustered into three distinct groups according to species with a slight overlap between representatives of An. cruzii and An. homunculus. The Mahalanobis distance between An. cruzii and An. homunculus was consistently lower (3.50) than that between An. cruzii and An. bellator (4.58) or An. homunculus and An. bellator (4.32). Pairwise cross-validated reclassification showed that geometric morphometrics is an effective analytical method to distinguish between An. bellator, An. cruzii and An. homunculus with a reliability rate varying between 78-88%. Shape analysis revealed that the wings of An. homunculus are narrower than those of An. cruzii and that An. bellator is different from both of the congeneric species.ConclusionIt is possible to distinguish among the vectors An. cruzii, An. homunculus and An. bellator based on female wing characteristics.
Highlights
Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii is a primary vector of Plasmodium parasites in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
In Brazil, the primary anopheline species involved in Plasmodium transmission belong to two subgenera, i.e., Nyssorhynchus (Anopheles darlingi, An. aquasalis, An. nuneztovari s.l., An. oswaldoi, An. triannulatus s.l. and species of the An. albitarsis complex) [2,3] and Kerteszia (An. cruzii, An. bellator and An. homunculus) [4], with An. cruzii and An. darlingi as the primary vectors of Plasmodium species [5]
Adult females of An. homunculus and An. cruzii are morphologically similar; distinction between these species is generally problematic when using only the classical morphological characteristics described in identification keys [13]
Summary
Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii is a primary vector of Plasmodium parasites in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Adult females of An. cruzii and An. homunculus, which is a secondary malaria vector, are morphologically similar and difficult to distinguish when using external morphological characteristics only. These two species may occur syntopically with An. bellator, which is a potential vector of Plasmodium species and is morphologically similar to An. cruzii and An. homunculus. The genus Anopheles of the family Culicidae contains species that are widely distributed throughout South America [1] These species are commonly associated with watercourses and forests, frequently in coastal areas. Most Kerteszia species use bromeliad phytothelmata as larval habitats, with the exception of An. bambusicolus, whose habitat is water accumulated inside bamboo internodes [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call