The
Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) albitarsis complex includes six species:
An. albitarsis,
Anopheles oryzalimnetes
Wilkerson and Motoki, n. sp.,
Anopheles marajoara
,
Anopheles deaneorum
,
Anopheles janconnae
Wilkerson and Sallum, n. sp. and
An. albitarsis F. Except for
An. deaneorum, species of the complex are indistinguishable when only using morphology. The problematic distinction among species of the complex has made study of malaria transmission and ecology of
An. albitarsis s.l. difficult. Consequently, involvement of species of the
An. albitarsis complex in human
Plasmodium
transmission is not clear throughout its distribution range. With the aim of clarifying the taxonomy of the above species, with the exception of
An. albitarsis F, we present comparative morphological and morphometric analyses, morphological redescriptions of three species and description of two new species using individuals from populations in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela. The study included characters from adult females, males, fourth-instar larvae, pupae and male genitalia of
An. albitarsis,
An. marajoara,
An. deaneorum and
An. oryzalimnetes n. sp. For
An. janconnae n. sp. only characters of the female, male and male genitalia were analyzed. Fourth-instar larvae, pupae and male genitalia characteristics of all five species are illustrated. Bionomics and distribution data are given based on published literature records.
