NEOTROPICAL REGION
Etymology: plough-bearing (L); refers to structure on male genitalia that resembles a plough, with a heavily sclerotized tip which forms the share
Culex vomerifer is the nominotypical member of the Vomerifer Group, which also includes Cx. gnomatos Sallum, Hutchings, Leila & Ferreira, Cx. portesi Senevet & Abonnenc, and Cx. sacchettae Sirivanakarn & Jakob. Readily separated by characters of the male genitalia, Culex vomerifer and Cx. gnomatos are essentially isomorphic as adult females, and are separated only by the absence of a patch of tiny, golden setae in the mid-mesepimeron in Cx. vomerifer. This given these two species are often lumped and the biomedical significance and bionomics of both taxa is likely confused.
Type locality: Almirante, Panama
Type depository: U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C., United States (USNM)
DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS (Click photos to view; mouse over and click large photo to zoom in.)
ADULT (illustrated): Thorax: Vertex with numerous narrow falcate scales; mesepimeron with patch of small pale golden setae on median portion; pleural integument yellowish or whitish, contrasting with pale brown to dark brown scutal integument; Acrostichal setae present on anterior promontory and on posterior portion of acrostichal area. Legs: Ta-III1–5 all dark.
LARVA (not illustrated): No data available.
TAXONOMIC KEYS
None
WRBU – Culex (Mel.) - Neotropical Region – Larva
Exemplar DNA sequences
Cx. vomerifer COI: KX779893–95
BIONOMICS
Immatures
Immature habitats of Cx. vomerifer can be collected in heavily shaded lowland swamp margins and between buttress roots. Habitats are typically highly organic, with organic-rich soils and colored waters from submerged leaves and woody debris. It can be difficult to locate the immatures.
Adults
Culex vomerifer is one of the most common Melanoconion species collected in human biting collections and CDC traps in the Atlantic forest region of southern Brazil. Females can be found host-seeking in both in the canopy and at ground level in forest edge habitats, including secondary growth vegetation in partially cleared forest areas, or near mangroves and swamps. Culex vomerifer males are often collected parasitized with Arrenurus and Durenia mites.
DISTRIBUTION NOTES
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela.
WRBU VECTOR HAZARD REPORTS
None; View other WRBU Vector Hazard Reports
Available GIS Models:
IMPORTANT REFERENCES (full citations below)
Komp 1932: 79 (M*)
Rozeboom & Komp 1950a: 97 (M*)
Stone 1961c: 47 (distribution; Trinidad)
Forattini 1965: 185 (M*)
Aitken & Galindo 1966: 202 (taxonomy, French Guiana)
Floch & Kramer 1965: 1 (taxonomy)
Barreto & Lee 1969: 431 (distribution; Colombia)
Galindo 1969: 87 (taxonomy)
Sirivanakarn 1979: 139 (distribution; Brazil)
Sirivanakarn & Jakob 1982 (1981): 194 (M*)
Sirivanakarn 1983: 278 (M*)
Pecor et al. 1992: 55 (M*; taxonomy, catalog citation)
Sallum & Forattini 1996: 579 (M*, F*)
Pecor et al. 2000 (distribution; Peru)
Navarro & Weaver 2004 (phylogenetics)
Linton et al. 2013 (bionomics, molecular taxonomy, distribution; Ecuador)
Torres-Gutierrez & Sallum 2015: 34 (taxonomy, bionomics, distribution; catalog citation)
CURRENT SYNONYMS
None
CITED REFERENCES
Aitken, T.H.G., & Galindo, P. (1966). On the identity of Culex (Melanoconion) portesi Senevet and Abonnenc 1941. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 68(3), 198–208.
Barreto, P., & Lee, V. H. (1969). Arthropods hematófagos del Rio Raposo, Valle, Colombia. II. Culicidae. Caldasia, 10(49), 407–440.
Floch, H., & Kramer, R. (1965). Sur Culex (Melanoconion) vomerifer Komp 1932, Culex (Melanoconion) portesi Senevet et Abonnenc 1941 et Culex (Melanoconion) cayennensis Floch et Abonnenc 1945, en Guyane Franҫaise. Archives de l'Institut Pasteur de la Guyane française et du Territoire de l'Inini, 497, 1–6.
Forattini, O.P. (1965). Entomología Médica. 3.0 Volume. Culicini: Haemagogus, Mansonia, Culiseta, Sabethini, Toxorhynchitini. Arboviruses. Filariose bancroftiana. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo.
Galindo, P. (1969). Notes on the systematics of Culex (Melanoconion) taeniopus Dyar and Knab and related species, gathered during arbovirus investigations in Panama. Mosquito Systematics, 1(4), 82–89.
Komp, W.H.W. (1932). A new Culex, Culex vomerifer, from Panama (Dipt., Culicidae). Psyche, 39(3), 79–82.
Linton, Y.-M., Pecor, J.E., Porter, C.H., Mitchell, L.B., Garzon-Moreno, A., Foley, D H., . . . Wilkerson, R.C. (2013). Mosquitoes of eastern Amazonian Ecuador: biodiversity, bionomics and barcodes. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 108 (Supplement 1), 100–109.
Navarro, J.-C., & Weaver, S.C. (2004). Molecular phylogeny of the Vomerifer and Pedroi groups in the Spissipes section of the subgenus Culex (Melanoconion). Journal of Medical Entomology, 41(4), 575–581.
Pecor, J.E., Jones, J., Turell, M.J., Fernancez, R., Carbajal, F., O'Guinn, M., . . . Klein, T.A. (2000). Annotated checklist of the mosquito species encountered during arboviral studies in Iquitos, Peru (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 16, 210–218.
Pecor, J.E., Mallampalli, V.L., Harbach, R.E., & Peyton, E.L. (1992). Catalog and illustrated review of the subgenus Melanoconion of Culex (Diptera: Culicidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 27, 1–228.
Rozeboom, L.E., & Komp, W.H.W. (1950a). A review of the species of Culex of the subgenus Melanoconion (Diptera, Culicidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 43, 75–114.
Sallum, M.A.M., & Forattini, O.P. (1996). Revision of the Spissipes section of Culex (Melanoconion) (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 12(3), 517–600.
Sirivanakarn, S. (1979). A new species of Culex (Melanoconion) from Bolivia and Ecuador (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquito Systematics, 11(2), 135–138.
Sirivanakarn, S. (1983). A review of the systematics and a proposed scheme of internal classification of the New World subgenus Melanoconion of Culex (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquito Systematics, 14 (1982)(4), 265–333.
Sirivanakarn, S., & Jakob, W.L. (1982). Culex (Melanoconion) sacchettae, a new species from the state of São Paulo, Brazil (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquito Systematics, 13 (1981) (2), 191–194.
Stone, A. (1961c). A synoptic catalog of the mosquitoes of the World, supplement I (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 29–52.
Torres-Gutierrez, C., & Sallum, M.A.M. (2015). Catalog of the subgenus Melanoconion of Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) for South America. Zootaxa, 4028(1), 1–50.
CITE THIS PAGE
Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (Year). Culex vomerifer species page. Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit Website, http://wrbu.si.edu/vectorspecies/mosquitoes/vomerifer, accessed on [date (e.g. 03 February 2020) when you last viewed the site].
