A description and morphometric comparison of eggs of species of the Anopheles gambiae complex
Lounibos, L.P.; Coetzee, M.; Duzak, D.; Nishimura, N.; Linley, J.R.; Service, M.W.; Cornel, A.J.; Fontenille, D.; Mukwaya, L.G.
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15(2): 157-185
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 8756-971X PMID: 10412112 Document Number: 510498
Eggs of the 6 named species of the A. gambiae complex are described from scanning electron micrographs of specimens obtained from laboratory colonies or wild-caught females. Morphometric measurements of eggs from 5 sources of A. arabiensis, 2 of A. gambiae, 1 of A. quadriannulatus, 2 of A. bwambae, 2 of A. merus, and 1 of A. melas were compared, and relationships were analysed by multivariate statistics. No morphological characters were species-diagnostic, although tendencies of the saltwater species A. merus and A. melas to have wider decks and shorter floats were confirmed. Species and populations overlapped considerably in principal components and discriminant function analyses based on 10 attributes of eggs. Nevertheless, discriminant functions revealed similarities in eggs of species believed to be most closely related, namely, A. gambiae and A. arabiensis, A. merus and A. melas, and A. quadriannulatus and A. bwambae.