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| Format: | Recurso digital |
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Zenodo
2025
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17990949 |
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- <p><b>2. <i>Culex</i> (<i>Eumelanomyia</i>) <i>macrostylus</i> Sirivanakarn & Ramalingam, 1976</b></p><p>A total of 58 specimens (9 F, 7 M, 5 MG, 6 Le, 25 L) of <i>Cx. macrostylus</i> were examined. Among these, two females and one male were associated with larval and pupal exuviae. Seven females and four males were collected resting inside man-made sandy caves, while others were reared from immature stages collected between July 2022 and January 2024 from diverse habitats, including turbid pools inside man-made caves, stream pools, a cement tank, rock pools and a swamp. Collections were made near Jarain in the Jaintia Hills (25.389822 N; 92.142540 E, 1,314 m a.s.l.; 25.389945 N; 92.147489 E, 1,295 m a.s.l.; 25.246460 N; 91.731046 E, 1,149 m a.s.l.) and Mawsmai in the Khasi Hills (25.505226 N; 91.812965 E, 1,644 m a.s.l.), Meghalaya State, India. Specimens were compared with original descriptions of Sirivanakarn & Ramalingam (1976) and Harbach & Rattanarithikul (1988). <i>Culex macrostylus</i> was previously known only from Malaysia.</p><p><i>Diagnosis</i>. The adult female of <i>Cx. macrostylus</i> is illustrated in Fig. 2d. Males are distinguishable from other members of the Tenuipalpis Subgroup (Mochthogenes Group, subgenus <i>Eumelanomyia</i>) by the following morphological features: A conspicuously large, broad gonocoxite; a subapical lobe with one prominent flattened blade-like seta and about 10 lanceolate setae; and a large, goose-head-shaped gonostylus (Fig. 2e). Based on male, female and larval characteristics, <i>Cx</i>. <i>macrostylus</i> is placed within a complex of six closely related species: <i>Culex tenuipalpis</i> Barraud, 1924a, Cx. <i>richei</i> Klein, 1970, <i>Cx</i>. <i>hayashii</i> Yamada, 1917, <i>Cx. hackeri</i> Edwards, 1923, <i>Cx</i>. <i>kiriensis</i> Klein & Sirivanakarn, 1970 and Cx. <i>oresbius</i> Harbach & Rattanarithikul, 1988. Among these species, Cx. <i>macrostylus</i> resembles <i>Cx</i>. <i>hackeri</i>, <i>Cx</i>. <i>kiriensis</i> and <i>Cx</i>. <i>oresbius</i> by its short male maxillary palpus, approximately 0.2 times the length of the proboscis, and the broad oval shape of the lateral plate of the male phallosome. However, <i>Cx</i>. <i>kiriensis</i> has a lateral plate that is distinctly tapered into a pointed or blunt apex. <i>Culex macrostylus</i> differs by having a distinct subapical lobe and a broader lateral plate.</p><p>Larvae are identified by a strongly tapered siphon that curves upward distally and bears 7 pairs of setae (Fig. 2f). The setae are 4–5 times wider than the diameter of the siphon at the point of attachment, resembling <i>Cx</i>. <i>tenuipalpis</i> and <i>Cx</i>. <i>hackeri</i>, but differing from <i>Cx</i>. <i>hayashii</i> and <i>Cx</i>. <i>richei</i>, which have slender siphons. <i>Culex macrostylus</i> larvae differ from <i>Cx</i>. <i>tenuipalpis</i> and <i>Cx</i>. <i>hackeri</i> by a stronger, subequal seta 8-P, triple-branched seta 6-III–VI seta and more siphonal setae.</p><p>Harbach & Rattanarithikul (1988) noted that <i>Cx</i>. <i>macrostylus</i> and <i>Cx</i>. <i>oresbius</i> differ in features of the male genitalia but not in characteristics of the larval and pupal stages. They proposed that the two species may represent geographical variants of a single species, as <i>Cx</i>. <i>macrostylus</i> is known from Malaysia and <i>Cx</i>. <i>oresbius</i> from Thailand, approximately 1,800 km apart.</p>