Scanning electron microscopy of the cibarial armature of species in the Anopheles dirus complex (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

The structure of the cibarial armature of mosquitoes has been found to be useful for taxonomic identification. We used a scanning electron micrograph to examine the cibarial armature of 4 of 5 species in the Anopheles dirus complex existing in Thailand: Anopheles dirus Peyton & Harrison, and An. cracens Sallum & Peyton, An. scanloni Sallum & Peyton, and An. baimaii Sallum & Peyton. In all species examined, there was only 1 row of large teeth or cones (modes = 12) characteristic of the Neomyzomyia series. The cones usually have anterior spines and a fimbriated or deeply cleft tip. No significant differences were observed among the 4 species examined, thus the cibarial armature has little value for taxonomic differentiation among these species. However, they appear different from closely related species in the Leucosphyrus complex reported previously.