ANOPHET jINES OP MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA AND WEST INDIES 
89 
definition these forms would be regarded as 
physiological races, unless we admit that 
the characters of the eggs differentiate 
higher categories than the race. 
Marston Bates (1940), in a closely rea¬ 
soned paper, makes out a strong case for 
regarding the forms of A. maculipennis 
found in Europe as distinct species. Much 
of his argument is based on the varying 
sexual behavior of the forms; he has found 
that the males of some forms mate readily 
with those of others, but in few instances 
are fertile eggs obtained. Some of his argu¬ 
ment is based on egg-characters, it appar¬ 
ently being true that certain forms which 
can be distinguished by distinct sexual 
behavior lay eggs which are easily differen¬ 
tiated from those of other forms. Probably 
when as much study has been applied to 
some of our tropical forms as has been given 
to the European A. maculipennis, similar 
differences, possibly correlated with ob¬ 
servable differences in egg-structure, will 
be found. At present we are not in a posi¬ 
tion to state that such differences occur, as 
very little study has been given to this as¬ 
pect of taxonomy, in American mosquitoes. 
Some work has been done in Brazil and 
Panama on the egg-characters of the species 
of Nyssorhynchus, among which are the 
principal vectors of malaria in the New 
World. Ayroza Galvao and Barretto 
(1938) have shown that the eggs of A. dar- 
lingi exhibit great variations in the form 
of the floats, frill and terminal collar of the 
egg. Rozeboom in Panama (1938b) and 
Ayroza Galvao (1940) in Brazil, have 
shown that the eggs of A. strodei are ex¬ 
ceedingly variable; Rozeboom distinguishes 
three types from his relatively scanty ma¬ 
terial ; Ayroza Galvao also distinguishes 
three types, and gives photomicrographs of 
other anomalies which bear no resemblance 
to these types. 
In Panama, at least, the various types of 
A. strodei eggs apparently do not indicate 
physiological races, as they were all ob¬ 
tained from the same locality at approxi¬ 
mately the same time. Ayroza Galvao has 
not studied the possibility that his types 
represent true physiological “races,” but 
hints that this may be the case. 
So it will be seen that considerable study 
must be made of the eggs of the species of 
the subgenus Nyssorhynchus before it can 
be decided whether their characteristics 
denote physiological races, or are possibly 
valid indicators of taxonomic “species.” 
With these preliminary remarks, it 
should be evident that the taxonomy of the 
Anophelini is not static but in a state of 
flux. However, the broad outlines of 
generic classification are fixed. It is .very 
likely that the number of good taxonomic 
“species” will be materially increased 
when adequate collections are made in 
Central and South America, and even more 
probable that many so-called species will 
have to be split up into varieties and phy¬ 
siological races. 
For the purposes of this paper, only 
taxonomic species will be considered, that 
is, species which can be recognized by some 
outward and visible structural or color 
character, or lacking this, by the charac¬ 
ters of the larvae and male terminalia. 
Classification 
In 1924 the late F. M. Root (1924a) listed 
34 species found in North and South Amer¬ 
ica, of which three are now known to be 
synonyms, making a total of 31 species. 
During the past 16 years, our knowledge 
of the Anophelini of the American tropics 
has increased very materially, not only as 
to the number of species, but in regard to 
their eggs, larvae, the characters of the male 
terminalia, their distribution, and their 
ability to transmit malaria. For instance, 
the list of species found in North and South 
America, as of January 1,1940, stands more 
or less at 64 species, of which 27 are found 
north of South America and south of the 
southern boundary of the United States, 
and including the Caribbean islands, the 
region with which we have to deal. 
The list of these 27 species, and the man¬ 
ner in which they are classified, is given in 
the following table: 
Family Culieidae 
Subfamily Culicinae 
Tribe Anophelini 
Genus chagasia 
bathanus Dyar.1 
