Anopheles (Cellia) pulcherrimus Theobald, 1902 (Fig. 12)

Type locality. Lahore, Pakistan.

Distribution. This species is found in the Oriental and Palaearctic Regions (Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East, it has been recorded in Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and United Arab Emirates (Mattingly & Knight 1956; Service 1986; Minář 1991; Glick 1992; Salit et al. 1994; Al-Houty 1997; Alten et al. 2000; Ramsdale et al. 2001; Rueda et al. 2008; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019; Wilkerson et al. 2021). It was first recorded in Saudi Arabia by Mattingly & Knight (1956).

Remarks. Kirti & Kaur (2004) reported that there are variations in the ornatmentation of the maxillary palpi and wings in natural populations of this species collected in northwestern India . Therefore, taxonomists should be aware of this as it may lead to misidentification.

Medical importance. Anopheles pulcherrimus is confirmed as a vector of malaria in parts of the former USSR and Afghanistan (Onori et al. 1975; Sergiev et al. 1993). It was identified as a potential vector in Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran based on immunoradiometric assay detection of Plasmodium vivax (Zaim et al. 1993) . Also, Tyagin and Rift Valley fever viruses have been found in this species (Wilkerson et al. 2021).