Anopheles (Cellia) multicolor Cambouliu, 1902

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 : 14

Anopheles (Cellia) multicolor Cambouliu, 1902 ( Fig. 9 )

Type localitiy. Isthme de Suez, Egypt.

Distribution. This species is found in the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palaearctic Regions ( Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019). In the Middle East and North Africa, it occurs in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates ( Mattingly & Knight 1956; Margalit & Tahori 1974; Harbach et al. 1989; Ramsdale 1990; Minář 1991; Glick 1992; Morsy et al. 1995; Amr et al. 1997; Al-Khalili et al. 2000; Brunhes et al. 2000; Abdoon & Alshahrani 2003; Rueda et al. 2008; Alahmed et al. 2009; Kheir et al. 2010; Al Ahmad et al. 2011; Alahmed 2012; Ammar et al. 2013; Shaalan et al. 2017; Tabbabi et al. 2017; Trari et al. 2017; Azari-Hamidian et al. 2019; Irish et al. 2020; Farag et al. 2021; Schaffner et al. 2021; Wilkerson et al. 2021). Anopheles multicolor was recorded for the first time in Saudi Arabia by Mattingly & Knight (1956).

Remarks. Gillies & de Meillon (1968) reported some morphological variation in adults, including the dark markings on the costa.

Medical importance. Eshghy (1977) observed Plasmodium oocysts in An. multicolour , however sporozoites have not been found in this species and it is not considered a vector in Iran. It is suspected of playing a role in the transmission of malaria in Egypt ( Kenawy 1988). Anopheles multicolor played a significant role in malaria transmission in the south of Morocco ( Guy 1959) and Rift Valley fever virus in Egypt ( Gad et al. 1987; Wilkerson et al. 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Anopheles multicolor, female (Natural History Museum, London, photo by James Turner, National Museum of Wales).