London Underground mosquito

London Underground mosquito
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Genus: Culex
Species:
C. molestus
Binomial name
Culex molestus
Forskal, 1775

The London Underground mosquito is a form of mosquito in the genus Culex. It is found in the London Underground railway system as its name suggests, but has a worldwide distribution and long predates the existence of the London Underground.[1] It was first described as a distinct species from Egyptian specimens by the biologist Peter Forsskål (1732–1763).[2] He named this mosquito Culex molestus due to its voracious biting, but later biologists renamed it Culex pipiens f. molestus because there were no morphological differences between it and Culex pipiens.[2] Notably, this mosquito assaulted Londoners sleeping in the Underground during the Blitz,[3] although similar populations were long known.[1]

A study from 2004 analyzing DNA microsatellites suggested that Culex molestus is likely a distinct species from Culex pipiens.[1] However, a more recent paper from 2012 argues that it is more accurately "a physiological and ecological variant of Cx. pipiens" and should not be considered a distinct species.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Fonseca was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Lõhmus, Mare; Lindström, Anders; Björklund, Mats (2 August 2012). "How often do they meet? Genetic similarity between European populations of a potential disease vector Culex pipiens". Infection Ecology & Epidemiology. 2 (1): 12001. Bibcode:2012InfEE...212001L. doi:10.3402/iee.v2i0.12001. PMC 3426333. PMID 22957132.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Burdick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Harbach, Ralph (December 2012). "Culex pipiens: Species Versus Species Complex – Taxonomic History and Perspective". Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 28 (4s): 10–23. doi:10.2987/8756-971X-28.4.10. PMID 23401941. S2CID 31007129.