Anopheles ziemanni Grünberg, 1902

1928. Anopheles mauritianus var. ziemanni of Edwards

TYPE LOCALITY: Wuri, Cameroon .

DESCRIPTION:

Wing length: 5.0 mm.

Wing (Fig. 10a): Subcostal and preapical pale spots present; pale fringe spot at apex of wing extending from R 2 to R 4+5, similar to An. fuscicolor .

Maxillary palpus: Shaggy, with four pale bands.

Legs (Fig. 10b): Apex of foretibia and base of foretarsomere 1 always dark. Apex of hindtibia, base of hindtarsomere 1 and apices of hindtarsomeres 2 and 3 with pale spots at most 3 times as wide as diameter of the tarsomere; hindtarsomeres 4 and 5 pale, 0.5 of hindtarsomere 3 pale.

LARVAL HABITAT: Natural collections of clear water with aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation, such as swamps, ponds, backwaters of streams, springs, ditches and rice fields.

ADULT BIOLOGY: Collections of An. ziemanni tested for infections of P. falciparum showed positivity rates of 0.3–2.9% in Cameroon (Gillies & de Meillon 1968; Antonio-Nkondjio et al. 2006; Bigoga et al. 2012; Tabue et al. 2014; Bamou et al. 2018; Amvongo-Adjia et al. 2018), 0.5% in Chad (Kerah-Hinzoumbe et al. 2009) and 10% in Rwanda (Nyirakanani et al. 2017). Giaquinto-Mira (1950) reported a single female in Ethiopia positive for sporozoites (Gillies & de Meillon 1968). Kamau et al. (2006) recorded 53% of females feeding on human blood in western Kenya but no parasite infections were found.

DISTRIBUTION: Widespread and abundant throughout the Afrotropical Region. Records also from northern Africa in the Mediterranean Region (Gillies & de Meillon 1968).