Culicomorpha

Culicomorpha
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Nematocera
Infraorder: Culicomorpha
Hennig, 1948
Superfamilies

Culicoidea
Chironomoidea
See text for families.

The Culicomorpha are an infraorder of Nematocera, including mosquitoes, black flies, and several extant and extinct families of insects.[1] They originated 176 million years ago, in the Triassic period. There are phylogenetic patterns that are used to interpret bionomic features such as differences in the nature of blood-feeding by adult females, daytime or nighttime feeding by adult females, and occurrence of immature stages in aquatic habitats.[1]

Most adult, females lay their eggs on bodies of water. Some are restricted to very clean waters, but others can tolerate highly polluted environments.[2]

Many adults transmit parasites or diseases that can be debilitating or fatal to humans, such as malaria and West Nile virus. Biting midges can transmit an extensive range of pathogens of veterinary importance, including Akabane virus, bovine ephemeral fever virus, Schmallenberg virus, African horse sickness virus, epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus, and bluetongue virus.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b Borkent, Art (2012). "The pupae of Culicomorpha : morphology and a new phylogenetic tree" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3396 (1). doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3396.1. ISBN 978-1-86977-957-3. OCLC 807999306.
  2. ^ Ecology and General Biology. James H. Thorp, D. Christopher Rogers (4th ed.). London: Academic Press. 2015. ISBN 978-0-12-385027-0. OCLC 899273856.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ^ Carpenter, Simon; Groschup, Martin H.; Garros, Claire; Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza; Purse, Bethan V. (October 2013). "Culicoides biting midges, arboviruses and public health in Europe". Antiviral Research. 100 (1): 102–113. doi:10.1016/j.antiviral.2013.07.020. ISSN 1872-9096. PMID 23933421.
  4. ^ Carpenter, S.; Veronesi, E.; Mullens, B.; Venter, G. (April 2015). "Vector competence of Culicoides for arboviruses: three major periods of research, their influence on current studies and future directions". Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics). 34 (1): 97–112. doi:10.20506/rst.34.1.2347. ISSN 0253-1933. PMID 26470451.