''Anopheles crucians'' is a mosquito that exists in aquatic environments under areas with little light presence. The preferred environment for ''A. crucians'' is areas with acidic water such as that found in cypress swamps. The mosquito breeds in semipermanent and permanent pools, ponds, lakes and swamps. It may be a

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

for

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

Anatomy

The anatomy of ''A. crucians'' is very similar to that of ''Anopheles bradleyi''. The

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...

is dark colored and black like that of other mosquitoes. The

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...

s, composed of six segments, are different colors based on the segment. The basal part is black with raised scales, segment 3 has white scales, the 4th segment has white-ringed basally and apically, and the last segment is white. The abdomen ranges from dark brown to black with hundreds of yellow to dark-brown hairs. The legs are dark with white patched in the

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

and

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

e. The wings, on average, are 4.0 millimeters in length and will have white-yellow scales with contrasting spots.

Malaria vector

In research conducted by W.V. King in 1916, it was discovered that ''

Anopheles ''Anopheles'' () is a genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818. About 460 species are recognised; while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus ''Plasmodium'', which c ...

'' female mosquitoes are carriers of

. In this research, 75% of ''A. crucians'' individuals were infected with

oocysts Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have Biological life cycle, life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an a ...

sporozoites Apicomplexans, a group of intracellular parasites, have life cycle stages that allow them to survive the wide variety of environments they are exposed to during their complex life cycle. Each stage in the life cycle of an apicomplexan organism i ...

, or both of the malarial parasite ''

Plasmodium falciparum ''Plasmodium falciparum'' is a Unicellular organism, unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of ''Plasmodium'' that causes malaria in humans. The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female ''Anopheles'' mosqu ...

''.

References

External links

Walter Reed Biosystematic Unit Characteristics, Bionomics, Medical Importance

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4770071 Insect vectors of human pathogens crucians Insects described in 1828