Morphometric comparisons of the scanning electron micrographs of the eggs of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) darlingi Root(Diptera: Culicidae)

Anopheles darlingi Root is the principal vector of Plasmodium in Brazil, but its biological variability is notwell known. Morphometric analyses of scanning electron microscopy images of the eggs of An. darlingiwere conducted using individuals collected in nine states of Brazil (Acre, Amapá, Espírito Santo, Pará,Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, São Paulo, and Tocantins). Ten attributes of the eggs (seven continuous variables and three discrete variables) were respectively measured or counted and analyzed to determine if populations from different geographical regions or biomes could be distinguished. Univariate analysisshowed that the eggs from Espírito Santo were the narrowest where as representatives from Tocantins populations had the smallest floats. Results of multivariate analyses of continuous variables showed that the first principal component (PC1), mainly represented by all four float attributes, helped to differentiate populations. The second principal component (PC2) comprised roughly the length and width of the egg. PC1 of discrete variables corresponded to the number of ribs on the float where as PC2 was approximately equivalent to the number of discs on the micropyle. Based on those variables (continuous and discrete separately), multivariate discriminant analysis indicated that eggs from individuals collected in Tocantins were distinct from the other populations. Among sampled localities, the one from the state of Tocantins was situated within the Cerrado biome whereas the locality from São Paulo state was at the border of Cerrado, within a transition zone of the Atlantic Forest biome...

Wing geometry of Anopheles darlingi Root (Diptera: Culicidae) in five major Brazilian ecoregions

We undertook geometric morphometric analysis of wing venation to assess this character’s ability to distinguish Anopheles darlingi Root populations and to test the hypothesis that populations from coastalareas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest differ from those of the interior Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and the regions South and North of the Amazon River. Results suggest that populations from the coastal and interior Atlantic Forest are more similar to each other than to any of the other regional populations. Notably,the Cerrado population was more similar to that from north of the Amazon River than to that collected of south of the River, thus showing no correlation with geographical distances. We hypothesize that environmentaland ecological factors may affect wing evolution in An. darlingi. Although it is premature to associate environmental and ecological determinants with wing features and evolution of the species,investigations on this field are promising...

New records of anopheles homunculus in central and serra do mar biodiversity corridors of the Atlantic forest, Brazil

Two new records of Anopheles homunculus in the eastern part of the Atlantic Forest are reported. This species was found for the first time in Barra do Ouro district, Maquiné municipality, Rio Grande do Sul state, located in the southern limit of the Atlantic Forest. The 2nd new record was in the Serra Bonita Reserve, Camacan municipality, southeast Bahia state. These records extend the geographical distribution of An. homunculus, suggesting that the species may be widely distributed in coastal areas of the Atlantic Forest. It is hypothesized that the disjunct distribution of the species may be caused by inadequate sampling, and also difficulties in species identification based only on female external characteristics. Species identification was based on morphological characters of the male, larva, and pupa, and corro borated by DNA sequence analyses, employing data from both 2nd internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal DNA and of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I...

Systematic notes of anopheles konderi and its first record in paraná state, brazil

We analyzed nuclear (second internal transcribed spacer and white gene) and mitochondrial(cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) data from Anopheles konderi collected in the Amazonian states of Acre,Amapa´, and Rondoˆnia and the southern Brazilian state of Parana´ . This was the first record of An. konderi inthe state of Parana´ . We found a high degree of genetic divergence within the Amazonian region and supportfor An. konderi as a species complex, possibly consisting of 3 species...