Anopheles (Cellia) pharoensis Theobald 1901a (Fig. 10)

Type locality. Cairo, Egypt.

Distribution. This species is found in the Afrotropical and Palaearctic Regions (Wilkerson et al. 2021). In the Middle East and North Africa, it occurs in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen (Knight 1953b; Mattingly & Knight 1956; Kouznetsov 1976; White 1980; Harbach et al. 1989; Minář 1991; Glick 1992; Morsy et al. 1995; Al-Houty 1997; Brunhes et al. 2000; Tantely et al. 2016, 2017; Lemine et al. 2017; Irish et al. 2020; Wilkerson et al. 2021). Anopheles pharoensis was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Mattingly & Knight (1956).

Remarks. Gillies & de Meillon (1968) noted some morphological variation in the mesonotal scaling, the ornamentation of the wings, the hindtarsal bands, the male genitalia and the pharynx of females. An o pheles pharoensis may be a species complex because of its variation in vector status and behaviour, as well as chromosomal inversions (Miles et al. 1983).

Medical importance. Despite the fact that this species is zoophilic and it is not considered to be a malaria vector in Saudi Arabia, studies have shown that it is a proven vector in Senegal and a possible vector in Yemen (Kouznetsov 1976; Dia et al. 2008). Also, An. pharoensis was able to experimentally transmit Rift Valley fever virus in Egypt (Gad et al. 1987). Additionally, the species is involved in the transmission of the nematode Wuchereria bancrofti and the Babanki, Bangui, Birao, Ngari, Sanar and Wesselsbron viruses in Africa (Tantely et al. 2016).