Aedes furcifer was named in 1913 as a nomen novum for nigra (Theobald).[1][2]Aedes furcifer and Aedes taylori have been treated as two species, usually found sympatrically, but are difficult to separate morphologically[3] so the term "Aedes furcifer-taylori group" has been used for the two species, and they have not always been differentiated by workers conducting studies on them.[3]
Aedes furcifer is the type species for the Aedes (Diceromyia) furcifer group in the Afrotropical realm, comprising three species: Aedes furcifer (Edwards), Aedes taylori (Edwards), and Aedes cordellieri (Huang).[3] Immature and adult female Ae. furcifersensu stricto and Ae. cordellieri are indistinguishable morphologically, with differences in the male gonocoxite being the only characteristic useful in separating the taxa.[4]
Aedes furcifer feeds readily on monkeys and humans[5] and has been observed to enter villages to feed on humans so is considered to be an important bridge vector between sylvatic and human populations.[6]
^ abJupp, PG; McIntosh, BM (1990). "Aedes furcifer and other mosquitoes as vectors of chikungunya virus at Mica, northeastern Transvaal, South Africa". Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 6 (3): 415–420. PMID1977875.