A newly recognized species in the Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) albitarsis complex (Diptera: Culicidae) from Puerto Carreno, Colombia

Abstract

We report a previously unrecognized mosquito species from eastern Colombia belonging to the Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) albitarsis complex. We provisionally name this taxon An. albitarsis species "F." Until now, the only members of the Albitarsis Complex recorded from north of the Amazon River have been An. marajoara and a putative phylogenetic species, An. albitarsis "E." As with the other largely monomorphic species in the complex, we were able to detect its presence using ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (rDNA ITS2) and partial white gene sequences. Unlike An. marajoara, but in common with other species in the complex, An. albitarsis F lacks the white gene fourth intron. This species is sympatric with An. marajoara in a malaria-endemic area in Puerto Carreño, Vichada Department, Colombia. It could be an important current and/or historical vector of human malaria parasites at this locality and, depending on its actual distribution, elsewhere in Colombia and Venezuela. Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.