AFROTROPICAL REGION
Etymology: René Libert Joseph Mouchet
The tiny Afrotropical malaria vector An. moucheti has a complex taxonomic history. The species was first described as a variety of Anopheles marshallii Theobald, and these species are still easily confused. Three closely related entities—An. moucheti moucheti Evans (found in west and central equatorial Africa, including Madagscar and the Comoros Islands), An. moucheti nigeriensis Evans (found only near type locality of Lagos, Nigeria) and An. bervoetsi D'Haenans (recently elevated to full species status, and found only in Tsakalakuku, Democratic Republic of Congo)—comprise taxa formally hidden under An. moucheti, all of which are unplaced within the Myzomyia Series. Morphological differences exist between An. moucheti and topotypic populations of An. moucheti nigeriensis and An. bervoetsi, and an ITS1 species diagnostic PCR assay has been developed to identify the component species.
Type locality: Stanleyville, Belgian Congo [Kisangani, Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo]
Type depository: Musée Royal de I'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Brussels, Belgium (CMT)
DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS (Click photos to view; mouse over and click large photo to zoom in.)
ADULT (illustrated): Head: Palpus with three pale bands; preapical dark band distinctly shorter than apical pale and preapical pale bands; MPlp5 all pale. Thorax: Scutal scales on posterior third sparse, narrow and yellowish brown. Wing: Preapical dark spot spot on R1 not interrupted by a pale spot and much larger then preapical pale spot; vein M3+4 with three pale spots, one at apex; vein 1A usually without a pale fringe spot. Legs: Apices of Ta-III1-3 or Ta-III1-4 pale; Ta-I4 dark or indistinctly pale at apex; legs not speckled. Abdomen: Without posterolateral scale tufts.
LARVA (not illustrated): Head: Seta 2-C single; seta 3-C much shorter than 2-C, with ≥3 short stiff branches. Thorax: Setae 1–3-P well-developed, arising from distinct basal tubercles. Abdomen: Leaflets of abdominal palmate seta. Abdominal segments: Segment V without median accessory tergal plate; width of tergal plate on segment V 0.67 or less distance between palmate setae. Terminal segments: Seta 1-X usually double.
TAXONOMIC KEYS
Gillies & De Meillon 1968
Gillies & Coetzee 1987
WRBU - Anopheles - Afrotropical Region - Larva
WRBU - Genera - Global - Adult
WRBU - Genera - Global - Larva
WRBU - Genera - Afrotropical - Adult
WRBU - Genera - Afrotropical - Larva
Exemplar DNA sequences
An. moucheti s.s. ITS1: AM232661
An. m.nigeriensis ITS1: AM232662
An. bervoetsi ITS1: AM232663
BIONOMICS
Immatures
Immature An. moucheti s.l. thrive in the turbid waters at the margins of slow flowing streams or rivers, especially where water lettuce (Pistia spp.) is present. They are often sympatric with the immatures of An. nili s.s. (Theobald) and An. carnevalei Brunhes, Le Goff & Geoffroy.
Adults
Anopheles moucheti s.l. is associated with equatorial forest-edge habitats, caused by slow-moving rivers, road building, or in cultivated forest clearings and rural villages. Anopheles moucheti s.s. is highly anthropophilic and endophilic, and often found resting inside human habitations in rural areas. When in high numbers, the species is a formidable malaria vector. Females bite through the night, peaking from midnight to dawn. Anopheles moucheti s.s. feeds on other forest animals, and has been implicated in the zoonotic crossover of Plasmodium spp. (and potentially arboviral agents) between great apes and man.
DISTRIBUTION NOTES
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Uganda.
WRBU VECTOR HAZARD REPORTS
None; View other WRBU Vector Hazard Reports
Available GIS Models:
IMPORTANT REFERENCES (full citations below)
Evans 1925b: 211 (M, F*; marshalli variety)
Evans 1929b (M*, P*, L*; as marshalli variety)
Evans 1938 (M*, F*, L*, E*)
De Meillon 1947b: 153 (M*, F*, P, L*, E)
Wanson et al. 1947: 39 (bionomics)
Gillies & De Meillon 1968 (M*, F*, L*, E*; keys)
Service 1976a: 260 (distribution; Gabon)
Gillies & Coetzee 1987 (F, L, P; keys)
Brunhes et al. 1998 (taxonomy, review)
Antonio-Nkondjio et al. 2009b (L bionomics)
Sinka et al. 2010: 117 (bionomics review, distribution, niche model)
Antonio-Nkondijo & Simard 2013 (bionomics, molecular taxonomy; s.l.; review)
Paupy et al. 2013 (med. imp; ape Plasmodium)
Kyalo et al. 2017 (distribution; sub-Saharan Africa)
CURRENT SYNONYMS
ssp. nigeriensis Evans
1931a: 138 (M, P, L*, E*). Type locality: Yaba, [Lagos], southern Nigeria (NHMUK). Distribution: Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea. References: De Meillon 1947b: 156 (F, L*); Gillies & De Meillon 1968: 122 (as subspecies); Brunhes et al. 1998 (synonymy with moucheti); Kyalo et al. 2017 (distribution; sub-Saharan Africa). Etymology: Nigeria. Informal name: Yaba Nigerian Nail Mosquito.
CITED REFERENCES
Antonio-Nkondjio, C. Ndo, C., Costantini, C., Awono-Ambene, P., Fontenille, D. & F. Simard. 2009b. Distribution and larval habitat characterization of Anopheles moucheti, Anopheles nili, and other malaria vectors in river networks of southern Cameroon. Acta Tropica, 112(3), 270–276.
Antonio-Nkondjio, C., & Simard, F. (2013). Highlights on Anopheles nili and Anopheles moucheti, malaria vectors in Africa. In S. Manguin (Ed.), Anopheles mosquitoes: new insights into malaria vectors (pp. 221–238). Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia: InTech.
Brunhes, J., Le Goff, G., Manga, L., & Geoffroy, B. (1998). Anophèles Afrotropicaux. - IV. Mise au point sur le complexe Anopheles moucheti, rehabilitation d'An. multicinctus et d'An. garnhami basilewskyi (Diptera: Culicidae). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 34(4), 397–405.
De Meillon, B. (1947b). The Anophelini of the Ethiopian geographical region. Publications of the South African Institute for Medical Research, 10(49), 1–272.
Evans, A.M. (1925b). A new variety of Anopheles marshalli Theobald from the Belgian Congo. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 19, 211–213.
Evans, A.M. (1929b). Notes on certain varieties of Anopheles marshalli Theobald. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 23(3), 415–425.
Evans, A.M. (1931a). Notes on African anophelines. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 25, 129–143.
Evans, A.M. (1938). Mosquitoes of the Ethiopian Region. II. Anophelini adults and early stages. London: British Museum (Natural History).
Gillies, M.T., & Coetzee, M. (1987). A supplement to the Anophelinae of Africa south of the Sahara (Afrotropical Region). Publications of the South African Institute for Medical Research, 55, 1–143.
Gillies, M.T., & de Meillon, B. (1968). The Anophelinae of Africa, south of the Sahara (Ethiopian zoogeographical region). Publications of the South African Institute for Medical Research, 54, 1–343.
Hay, S.I., Sinka, M.E., Okara, R.M., Kabaria, C.W., Mbithi, P.M., Tago, C.C., …Godfray, H.C.J. (2010). Developing global maps of the dominant Anopheles vectors of human malaria. PLoS Medicine, 7(2): e1000209.
Kyalo, D., Amratia, P., Mundia, C.W., Mbogo, C.M., Coetzee, M., & Snow, R.W. (2017). A geo-coded inventory of anophelines in the Afrotropical Region south of the Sahara: 1898–2016. Wellcome Open Research, 2, 57.
Paupy, C., Makanga, B., Ollomo, B., Rahola, N., Durand, P., Magnus, J., . . . Prugnolle, F. (2013). Anopheles moucheti and Anopheles vinckei are candidate vectors of ape Plasmodium parasites, including Plasmodium praefalciparum in Gabon. PLoS ONE, 8(2), e57294.
Service, M.W. (1976a). Contribution to the knowledge of the mosquitoes (Diptera, Culicidae) of Gabon. Cahier ORSTOM. Série Entomologie Médicale et Parasitologie, 14(3), 259–263.
Wanson, M., Wolfs, J., & Lebied, B. (1947). Comportement de l'Anopheles (Myzomyia) moucheti Evans. Recueil de Travaux de Sciences Médicales au Congo Belge, 6, 39–62.
CITE THIS PAGE
Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (Year). Anopheles moucheti species page. Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit Website, http://wrbu.si.edu/vectorspecies/mosquitoes/moucheti, accessed on [date (e.g. 03 February 2020) when you last viewed the site].
