A genus of mosquitoes (family Culicidae, subfamily Anophelinae). The sporogenous cycle of the malarial parasite is passed in the body cavity of female mosquitoes of certain species of this genus; a few selected vectors (from among over 90 species) are listed below. [G. a., useless, harmful, fr. an- priv. + opheleo, to be of use]
- A. albimanus a species having white hind feet, a common carrier of the malaria parasite in the West Indies and Central America.
- A. aquasalis mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in the lesser Antilles, Trinidad, and Brazil.
- A. arabiensis mosquito species that is a principal vector of malaria in arid or montane areas across sub-Saharan Africa to Kenya and the Sudan.
- A. barbirostris mosquito species that is a vector of malaria in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula.
- A. crucians mosquito species that is a secondary or suspected vector of malaria, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, and Eastern equine encephalitis within the United States.
- A. culicifacies mosquito species that is a common malaria vector in India and Sri Lanka, China, and elsewhere in the Orient.
- A. flavirostris mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in the Philippines, Java, and northern Celebes.
- A. freeborni mosquito species that is a vector in the western U.S. (although endemic cases are no longer present).
- A. kweiyangensis mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in Szechuan province in China.
- A. labranchiae mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria wherever found in the Palearctic region.
- A. lesteri mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria in the lower Yangtze Valley in China.
- A. maculipennis the type species of this genus; its wings are marked by spots formed of collections of scales; one of the most widely spread species active in the dissemination of malaria (formerly an important vector in continental Europe).
- A. minimus mosquito species that is an important vector of malaria wherever found throughout the Orient.
- A. quadrimaculatus mosquito species that was formerly an important carrier of malaria in the southern United States.
- A. superpictus mosquito species that is an important vector in the Mediterranean region, Middle East, and southern Asia.
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anoph·e·les ə-'näf-ə-.lēz n
1) cap a genus of mosquitoes that includes all mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans
2) any mosquito of the genus Anopheles
anopheles adj
anoph·e·line -.līn adj or n
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n.
a genus of widely distributed mosquitoes, occurring in tropical and temperate regions, with some 350 species. The malarial parasite (see Plasmodium) is transmitted to humans solely through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. Some species of Anopheles may transmit the parasites of bancroftian filariasis.
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Anoph·e·les (ə-nofґə-lēz) [Gr. anōphelēs hurtful] 1. a large genus of mosquitoes of the tribe Anophelini, subfamily Anophelinae, characterized by long slender palpi, nearly as long as the proboscis, and by holding the body at an angle with the surface on which it rests while the head and proboscis are in line with the body. Many species are vectors of malaria, and some are vectors of Wuchereria bancrofti. It has been subdivided into several subgenera, including Cellia, Kerteszia, Nyssorhynchus, and one called Anopheles. 2. a subgenus of genus Anopheles.
Anopheles adult. (A), Female feeding, showing the characteristic head and body posture; (B), close-up of head showing the length of the palpi (red arrow) in relation to that of the proboscis (blue arrow).
Medical dictionary. 2011.