QUESTION

What is the classification of mosquito that cause malaria?

ANSWER

The mosquitoes that cause malaria in humans (and indeed also in all other mammals) all belong to the genus Anopheles. They belong to the family Culicidae, which also includes other disease vectors such as Culex and Aedes, which transmit other diseases such as dengue virus, lymphatic filariasis, West Nile virus and Japanese encephalitis, among many others. The Culicidae are part of the Diptera, or the “true flies” which possess a pair of wings and a pair of halteres. The Diptera are part of the class Insecta, which is found within the phylum Arthropoda, in the Kingdom Animalia.