Published August 27, 2025
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Anopheline mosquitoes of north-western Russia (Diptera, Culicidae): updated distribution and morphological characters
Authors/Creators
- 1. Institute of Biology of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia|Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 2. Institute of Biology of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia
- 3. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia|Institute of Biology of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia
- 4. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
- 5. Forest Research Institute of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia
- 6. Saint-Petersburg Pasteur Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia
Description
Mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles were collected in the Republic of Karelia, St. Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Novgorod Region and Pskov Region (Russia) in order to clarify their distribution and genetic and morphological diversity. ITS2 sequence analysis of An. maculipennis s. l. (58 specimens) showed that they belonged to An. beklemishevi, An. messeae, An. daciae and An. maculipennis s. str. Taking into account our earlier data on An. claviger, this means that there are five Anopheles spp. in north-western Russia whose records are confirmed by molecular methods. We revealed An. daciae in Leningrad and Pskov Regions for the first time and confirmed its distribution in Karelia. Anopheles beklemishevi was found near the Arctic Circle in north-western Karelia. The study of morphology of the female heads of An. daciae, An. messeae and An. beklemishevi showed they may potentially be used for differentiation of these species.
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