title: Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Mauritania: a review of their biodiversity, distribution and medical importance.
abstract: Although mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are important disease vectors, information on their biodiversity in Mauritania is scarce and very dispersed in the literature. Data from the scientific literature gathered in the country from 1948 to 2016 were collected and analyzed. Overall 51 culicid species comprising 17 Anopheles spp., 14 Aedes spp., 18 Culex spp. and two Mansonia spp. have been described in Mauritania among which Anopheles arabiensis, Aedes vexans, Culex poicilipes and Culex antennatus are of epidemiological significance. Anopheles arabiensis is widely distributed throughout the country and its geographic distribution has increased northwards in recent years, shifting its northern limit form 17°32'N in the 1960s to 18°47'N today. Its presence in the central region of Tagant highlights the great ecological plasticity of the species. Conversely, the distribution of Anopheles gambiae (s.s.) and Anopheles melas has shrunk compared to that of the 1960s. Anopheles rhodesiensis and An. d'thali are mainly confined in the mountainous areas (alt. 200-700 m), whereas Anopheles pharoensis is widely distributed in the Senegal River basin. Culex poicilipes and Cx. antenattus were naturally found infected with Rift valley fever virus in central and northern Mauritania following the Rift valley outbreaks of 1998 and 2012. Recently, Ae. aegypti emerged in Nouakchott and is probably responsible for dengue fever episodes of 2015. This paper provides a concise and up-to-date overview of the existing literature on mosquito species known to occur in Mauritania and highlights areas where future studies should fill a gap in knowledge about vector biodiversity. It aims to help ongoing and future research on mosquitoes particularly in the field of medical entomology to inform evidence-based decision-making for vector control and management strategies.
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.|Laboratoire d'Ecologie Vectorielle et Parasitaire, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Aichetou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mint Mohamed Lemine
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Mohamed Aly
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ould Lemrabott
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Moina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasni Ebou
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Khadijetou
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mint Lekweiry
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Mohamed Salem
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ould Ahmedou Salem
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Khyarhoum
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ould Brahim
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ouldabdallahi Moukah
authors.affiliation: Institut Supérieur des Etudes technologiques, Rosso, Mauritania.
authors.forename: Issa Nabiyoullahi
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Ould Bouraya
authors.affiliation: Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Unité Mixte de Recherche IRD224-CNRS5290-Université de Montpellier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Cecile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brengues
authors.affiliation: Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Unité Mixte de Recherche IRD224-CNRS5290-Université de Montpellier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Trape
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine La Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, 13385, France.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Basco
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM 63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Faculté de Médecine La Timone, Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, 13385, France.|Unité Parasitologie et Entomologie, Département des Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bogreau
authors.affiliation: Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs: Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC), Unité Mixte de Recherche IRD224-CNRS5290-Université de Montpellier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Vectorielle et Parasitaire, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Ousmane
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Génomes et Milieux, Jeune Equipe Associée à l'IRD (RI3M), Université de Nouakchott Al-Aasriya, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Nouveau Campus Universitaire, Nouakchott, BP 5026, Mauritania. alimedsalem@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ould Mohamed Salem Boukhary
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D009033:Culicidae / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D008435:Mauritania / Q000453:epidemiology; D000072138:Mosquito Vectors; D012295:Rift Valley Fever / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission
keywords: Biodiversity; Culicidae; Dengue; Malaria; Mauritania; Mosquitoes; Rift Valley fever; Vector