Anopheles, Meigen, 1818

Dawah, Hassan A., Abdullah, Mohammed A., Ahmad, Syed Kamran, Turner, James & Azari-Hamidian, Shahyad, 2023, An overview of the mosquitoes of Saudi Arabia (Diptera: Culicidae), with updated keys to the adult females, Zootaxa 5394 (1), pp. 1-76 : 54-55

Key to the subgenera and species (adult females) of Anopheles in Saudi Arabia

1 Wing with fewer than 4 separate dark areas involving costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1); anterior margin of wing with 2 separate pale areas involving C, R and R 1, one about 0.67 from wing base and one near apex; lateral area of clypeus with a patch of projecting dark scales (subgenus Anopheles : Coustani Group)......................................... 2

– Anterior margin of wing with at least 4 separate dark areas involving C, R, and R 1 or wing entirely dark-scaled; clypeus without scales (subgenus Cellia ) (Note 1)........................................................................ 3

2(1) Coxae with pale scales; hindtarsomere 1 broadly pale at base and apex; hindtarsomere 2 pale over about apical half; hindtarsomere 3 dark at base only or entirely pale................................................................. coustani

– Coxae without pale scales; hindtarsomere 1 narrowly pale at apex only; hindtarsomere 2 narrowly pale at apex only; hindtarsomere 3 pale over apical third to two-thirds.................................................. tenebrosus

3(1) Distal 0.5 of hindtarsomere 2 and all of hindtarsomeres 3–5 pale; forefemur mostly pale-scaled; mid- and hindfemur with longitudinal white line terminating in an oval spot................................................ pulcherrimus

– Distal 0.5 of hindtarsomere 2 and hindtarsomeres 3–5 not entirely pale; forefemur not pale-scaled, but may have pale spots; mid- and hindfemur without longitudinal white line, but may have pale spots..................................... 4

4(3) Maxillary palpus with 4 pale bands; abdominal terga II–VII with posterolateral dark scale-tufts............... pharoensis

– Maxillary palpus dark, or with at most 3 pale bands, pale spots may also be present; abdominal terga II–VII without dark scale-tufts, some posterolaterial dark scales may be present on distal segments......................................... 5

5(4) Maxillary palpus with 2 or 3 indistinct pale bands or entirely dark (Note 2)....................................... 6

– Maxillary palpus with at least 3 distinct pale bands.......................................................... 7

6(5) Erect head scales narrow, straw-yellow throughout.................................................... azaniae

– Erect head scales broad white on vertex and dark brown laterally and posteriorly.................... rupicolus (Note 3)

7(5) Hindtarsomere 5 pale......................................................................... pretoriensis

– Hindtarsomere 5 dark................................................................................. 8

8(7) Wing with pale spots confined to costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1); erect head scales narrow, straw-yellow throughout; scutum with setae only, no scales.................................................................... dthali

– Wing with pale spots present on nearly all veins; erect head scales broad, pale on vertex and dark laterally and posteriorly; scutum with obvious pale scales in addition to setae......................................................... 9

9(8) Palpomere 5 dark at apex............................................................................. 10

– Palpomere 5 pale at apex, or entirely pale................................................................. 12

10(9) Scutal fossa (SF) covered with scattered pale scales; base of costa (C) pale-scaled......................... multicolor

– Scutal fossa without scales; base of costa dark............................................................. 11

11(10) Wing generally pale, pale and dark areas apart from costa (C), radius (R) and radius-one (R 1) poorly contrasted posterior to R and R 1; anal vein (1A) with at most 2 indistinct dark spots, distal spot long, often appearing mostly dark-scaled; vein R without accessory sector dark spot....................................................................... turkhudi

– Wing with well-defind pale- and dark-scaled areas on all veins; vein 1A with 3 dark spots; vein R with accessory sector dark spot......................................................................................... cinereus

12(9) Scutum with broad pale scales on median area; upper proepisternal setae absent.................................. 13

– Scutum with narrow pale scales on median area; upper proepisternal setae present................................ 14

13(12) Femora and tibiae spotted with pale scales; abdominal terga II–VIII largely covered with pale scales; middle of maxillary palpomere 3 usually with some pale spots other than pale bands......................................... stephensi

– Femora and tibiae not spotted; abdominal terga without pale scales; maxillary palpomere 3 without pale spots................................................................................................... superpictus s.l.

14(12) Scutal fossa covered with scattered pale scales; hindtarsomeres 3 and 4 pale at apex............................... 15

– Scutal fossa without scales; hindtarsomeres 3 and 4 entirely dark.............................................. 16

15(14) Femora and tibiae with spots of pale scales; anal vein (1A) usually with 3 dark spots; radius (R) usually with distinct preaccessory sector dark spot.............................................................................. arabiensis

– Femora and tibiae not spotted; anal vein with 2 dark spots; radius usually without preaccessory sector dark spot.................................................................................................... subpictus s.l.

16(14) Radius (R) with a dark spot just distal to humeral crossvein; wing fringe usually with 1 or 2 inconspicuous pale spots on posterior margin, rarely more............................................................... culicifacies s.l.

– Radius without a dark spot just distal to humeral crossvein; wing fringe usually with at least 4 pale spots on posterior margin .................................................................................................. 17

17(16) Radius-four-plus-five (R 4+5) dark-scaled except at base and apex, occasionally with some pale scales in distal area; scutum unicolourous; frontal tuft poorly developed......................................................... sergentii

– Radius-four-plus-five with a distinct, large median pale area; scutum grey on top, darker at sides; frontal tuft well developed.................................................................................. fluviatilis s.l. (Note 4)