Applying Morphometric Variation of Seta 2 (Antepalmate Hair) among the Larvae of the Members of the Maculipennis Subgroup (Diptera: Culicidae) in Iran

The members of Anopheles maculipennis subgroup (Diptera: Culicidae) are the most important vectors of malaria in the north, west, and central plateau of Iran. This study was carried out to differentiate the species composition of this subgroup based on morphometric variation seta 2-IV and V (antepalmate hair) among 149 larval specimens that were deposited at the Medical Arthropods Museum, the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences by using the light micro scope. The mean numbers of larval seta 2-IV and V of the specimens belong to different locations of Iran, were calculated by SPSS (11.5) software package, followed by cluster analysis, and four different groups (clusters) were identified. The means were compared with the similar and available published data. After analyzing, four clusters recognized. The first cluster was fitted in ten localities in Esfahan, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Khorassan, Kurdistan, and Mazandaran Provinces with its mean and standard deviation (SD) of 14.89±1.13 (n= 79); the second group with one location in Gilan Province (11±1.58, no= 5); the third one with two locations in Fars and Western Azarbaijan Provinces (27.43±0.31, n=20), and the final group with four locations in Khuzestan, West Azarbaijan, and Qazvin Provinces (36.84±1.91, n= 45) were identified and corresponded to Anopheles messeae, An. atroparvus, An. melanoon, and An. sacharovi respectively. This work provides comparative information on the Maculipennis Subgroup based on morphometric examination at the larval stage in Iran.