Culex vishnui is a mosquito belonging to the Culicidae family. It is the most common vector (carrier) of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Sarawak.[10]
| Culex vishnui | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Culicidae |
| Tribe: | Culicini |
| Genus: | Culex |
| Subgenus: | Culex |
| Species: | C. vishnui |
| Binomial name | |
| Culex vishnui Theobald, 1901 | |
| Synonyms | |
See also
Identification
The Culex vishnui Theobald mosquito species belongs to a sub-type that also includes two other carriers of the Japanese encephalitis virus - Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles and Culex pseudovishnui Colless.[11] Since the females of these different species are difficult to morphologically distinguish from one another, an rDNA based diagnostic PCR is used for identification.[11]
Morphological identification of multiple JEV carrier mosquitoes including Cx. vishnui are based on identifying specific features of the legs, abdomen, palpi, wings, proboscises, and tarsi.[12] The identification of Cx. vishnui is confirmed by verifying that the "anterior surface of hindfemur with pale stripe does not contrast with dark scaled area".[10]