Anopheles culicifacies: sibling species distribution and vector incrimination studies
Subbarao, S.K.; Adak, T.; Sharma, V.P.
Journal of Communicable Diseases 12(2): 102-104
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5138 PMID: 7198132 Document Number: 166544
Anopheles culicifacies Giles, which is the primary vector of malaria in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was found in 1980 to contain 2 distinct types of X-chromosomes, indicating the probable existence of 2 sibling species; the one with the standard X-chromosome arrangement was designated species A and the one with inversions on the X-chromosome species B. More recent work, which is described in the present paper, on mosquitoes caught in villages surrounding Delhi showed that 4 of these villages were infested by species A and 4 by species B, and that only species A contained sporozoites of the malarial parasite in its salivary glands; this suggests that species A is a vector of malaria, whereas the role of species B has yet to be established.