New Names for Mosquito Vector Species

Forwarded from ProMED-mail, March 18, 2005, Id: 20050318.0781, in its
amusing entirety (see note from ProMED moderator at end of message):

AEDES AEGYPTI, OTHER MOSQUITOES: NAME CHANGES

The so-called yellow fever mosquito, the most widely known mosquito
species, until recently universally known as _Aedes aegypti_, was
placed in the subgenus _Stegomyia_; thus its full name was _Aedes
(Stegomyia) aegypti_.

Last year a very detailed study on the phylogeny of the genus
_Aedes_ and another 45 aedine genera resulted in a reclassification
of these mosquitoes. One of the more important changes is that the
subgenus _Stegomyia_ has been elevated to generic status, and so
_Aedes aegypti_ become _Stegomyia aegypti_ (which can be abbreviated
to _St. aegypti_) and _Ae. albopictus_ becomes _Stegomyia albopicta_
Here the masculine name _albopictus_ has to be feminised to agree
with the genus name _Stegomyia_.

Many other former _Aedes_ species, including vectors such as
_africanus_ (now _africana_), _bromeliae_, _polynesiensis_ and
_scutellaris_, are now in the genus _Stegomyia_.

Name changes, especially those involving vectors, always cause
confusion to the uninitiated. But I think ProMED should fall in line
and adopt the reclassification of the aedine mosquitoes. The
reference for these changes is:-

Reinert, J.F., Harbach, R.E. and Kitching, I.J. (2004) Phylogeny and
classification of Aedini (Diptera: Culicidae), based on morphological
characters of all life stages. _Zoological Journal of the Linnean
Society_, 142: 289-368.

For those interested in Australasian mosquitoes a key reference is:

Reinert, J.F. and Harbach, R.E. (2005). Generic and subgeneric status
of aedine mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae: Aedini) occurring in
the Australasian Region. Zootaxa, 887: 1-10.

--
Mike Service
ProMED-mail Medical Entomology Moderator
<mservice@liverpool.ac.uk>
[I was sorely tempted to change the title of this to the sensational
headline "Aedes aegypti eradicated". - Mod.JW]
..................ms/pg/jw
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