Aedes furcifer explained

Aedes furcifer was named in 1913 as a nomen novum for nigra (Theobald).[1] [2] Aedes furcifer and Aedes taylori have been treated as two species, usually found sympatrically, but are difficult to separate morphologically[3] so the term "Aedes furcifer-taylori group" has been used for the two species, and they have not always been differentiated by workers conducting studies on them.[3]

Aedes furcifer is the type species for the Aedes (Diceromyia) furcifer group in the Afrotropical realm, comprising three species: Aedes furcifer (Edwards), Aedes taylori (Edwards), and Aedes cordellieri (Huang).[3] Immature and adult female Ae. furcifer sensu stricto and Ae. cordellieri are indistinguishable morphologically, with differences in the male gonocoxite being the only characteristic useful in separating the taxa.[4]

Bionomics

Aedes furcifer is a "tree hole mosquito",[5] i.e., its subadult stages develop in rot-holes in trees.[2] The species has been found in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.[2]

Medical importance

Yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika, Bouboui and Bunyamwera viruses have been isolated from members of the furcifer group.[3] Ae. furcifer is involved in monkey-to-man and man-to-man transmission of yellow fever, is a potential vector of dengue virus serotype 2, and is a vector of chikungunya virus.[2]

Aedes furcifer feeds readily on monkeys and humans[5] and has been observed to enter villages to feed on humans so is considered to be an important bridge vector between sylvatic and human populations.[6]

Notes and References

  1. F. W. Edwards. 1913. Further Notes on African Culicidae. Bulletin of Entomological Research, IV: 47–59; 48; http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/039100-8.pdf .
  2. Thomas V. Gaffigan, Richard C. Wilkerson, James E. Pecor, Judith A. Stoffer and Thomas Anderson. 2016. "Aedes (Dic.) furcifer" in Systematic Catalog of Culicidae, Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, http://www.wrbu.org/SpeciesPages_non-ANO/non-ANO_A-hab/AEfur_hab.html, accessed 12 Feb 2016.
  3. Yiau-Min Huang. 1986. Notes on the Aedes (Diceromyia) furcifer Group, With a Description of a New Species (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 88(4): 634–649; http://www.mosquitocatalog.org/files/pdfs/wr237.pdf .
  4. P. G. Jupp. 1998. Aedes (Diceromyia) furcifer (Edwards) and Aedes (Diceromyia) cordellieri Huang in Southern Africa: Distribution and Morphological Differentiation. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 14(3):273–276; https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/content/part/JAMCA/JAMCA_V14_N3_P273-276.pdf.
  5. Jupp . PG . McIntosh . BM . 1990 . Aedes furcifer and other mosquitoes as vectors of chikungunya virus at Mica, northeastern Transvaal, South Africa . Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association . 6 . 3. 415–420 . 1977875.
  6. Diallo . D . Sall . AA . Diagne . CT . Faye . O . Faye . O . Ba . Y . Hanley . KA . Buenemann . M . Weaver . SC . Diallo . M . 2014 . Zika virus emergence in mosquitoes in southeastern Senegal, 2011 . . 9 . 10. e109442 . 4195678 . 25310102 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0109442. 2014PLoSO...9j9442D . free .

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