NO. 3557 SUBGENUS CULEX 
BRAM 3 
observed that (a) the few fossil mosquitoes that are known are of little 
help in understanding the past history of the group; (b) the various 
taxonomic categories are not sufficiently defined to form a sure 
foundation for generalization; and (c) a map showing distribution of 
various species is apt to reflect the distribution of the collectors more 
than the distribution of the insects. We should also note that, at 
least in the Neotropical region, sufficient biological data is not available 
in many instances to permit intelligent interpretations of distributional 
patterns. Despite these limitations, noteworthy contributions to 
mosquito zoogeography have been made by Lane (1943, 1944), Bates 
(1949), Mattingly (1962), and Belkin (1962). 
The dominant mosquito genera in the New World, as determined 
by number of species, are Culex and Aedes. In the Nearctic region 
Aedes assumes the dominant role with Culex being represented by only 
26 species (15 of which are both Nearctic and Neotropical). In the 
Neotropical region Culex predominates and is represented by 239 
species according to Stone et al. (1959). In no other region is the 
genus Culex so diversified. In the Ethiopian region there are 104 
species in the genus. The Oriental region is next in number of species 
with 88, followed by 33 species in the Palearctic. Within the genus 
Culex the subgenus Melanoconion is dominant. It is indigenous to 
the New World and encompasses 117 species (only eight of which are 
found in the Nearctic). The subgenus Culex is cosmopolitan, but 
also exhibits a decided concentration in the tropical regions. Only 
three species of the subgenus, restuans, salinarius, and tarsalis, are 
indigenous to the Nearctic region. Forty-nine species are indigenous 
to the Neotropical region, and nine species are found in both Nearctic 
and Neotropical regions. The following discussion treats zoogeo- 
graphical patterns of the subgenus Culex in the New World. 
The three species of Culex (Culex) native to the Nearctic region 
present interesting patterns, since they are related to widely distrib- 
uted Neotropical species. Culex restuans is found throughout North 
America, ranging from the Gulf of Mexico into Canada and from 
California to the east coast (Carpenter and LaCasse, 1955). Studies 
of the male terminalia indicate that it has close affinity with C. 
laticlasper, a species described from the Panamanian Isthmus. 
Another species found in the complex, C. acharistus is distributed 
from Columbia south to Llanquihue, Chile and eastward to Argentina 
and Brazil. 
Culex salinarius, also indigenous to the Nearctic region, occurs in 
the eastern United States, southeastern Canada, extends westward 
to Utah, and dips into Mexico (Carpenter and LaCasse, 1955). 
Studies of male terminalia indicate that it has close affinities with 
C. archegus, which is found on the northwest coast of South America, 
