''Aedes (Fredwardsius)'' is a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Aedes ''Aedes'' (also known as the tiger mosquito) is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: ''Aedes albopictus'', ...

'' with distribution in

southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

, southern Asia, and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

.John F. Reinert. 2000. Description of ''Fredwardsius'', a new subgenus of ''Aedes'' (Diptera: Culicidae). ''European Mosquito Bulletin'', 6: 1-7; http://www.e-m-b.org/sites/e-m-b.org/files/European_Mosquito_Bulletin_Publications811/EMB06/EMB06_01.pdf. The subgenus was erected in 2000 after a comparison of specimens of '' Aedes vittatus'' with all other recognized

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

in the mosquito

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Aedini indicated that the species had sufficiently unusual and unique morphological and other features of subgeneric rank significance to merit stand-alone status. '' Aedes vittatus'' was established as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

, and is currently (2016) the only species in the subgenus, making ''Fredwardsius'' a

monotypic taxon In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of Genus, genera, the term ...

. The subgenus was named to honor British

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Frederick Wallace Edwards Frederick Wallace Edwards FRS (28 November 1888 in Fletton, Peterborough – 15 November 1940 in London), was an English entomologist. Edwards was known in the field of entomology for his work on Diptera. Edwards worked in the British Museum ( ...

, who during over 30 years of work at the British Museum of Natural History, now the Natural History Museum, London, published numerous articles on the

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

of the

Culicidae Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

establishing the basic generic and

subgeneric In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the gen ...

framework of the family Culicidae. The three-letter abbreviation for the subgenus is Fre.

Species

*'' Aedes vittatus''

References

Aedes Insect subgenera Monotypic insect taxa {{Culicidae-stub