Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies comprising some 3,600 species. They have a slender, segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hairlike legs, and an elongated proboscis adapted for piercing and sucking. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers, and females of many species have also adapted to drink blood, a habit evolutionary biologists describe as micropredation and medical parasitologists study for its role in transmitting protozoan, bacterial and viral pathogens between hosts. The group diversified during the Cretaceous period.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) System (Realm) System (Realm) Relationship to People Living or Extinct Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceSlender segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hairlike legs and an elongated proboscis 1 Scientific Name Connections
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Denmark, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Norway, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Sweden, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: United States, found in there.
Sources
1. Mosquito - Wikipedia
Infobox, taxon name
Culicidae
Introduction
Mosquitoes have a slender, segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and a specialized, highly elongated set of mouthparts forming a proboscis
- vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or viral pathogens from one host to another
Wikipedia article, diet description
Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them.
View the Source2. GBIF Species API
3. Mosquito (Wikipedia)
Wikidata: Culicidae
- Wikidata Q7367, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Child Taxon Of: Diptera, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
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