Taxonomic signal in the wing cells of Lutzia mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Thailand: An outline-based geometric morphometric approach.

Authors

  • Tanawat Chaiphongpachara Department of Public Health and Health Promotion, College of Allied Health Sciences, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9585-4241
  • Tanasak Changbunjong Department of Pre-Clinic and Applied Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand; The Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals (MoZWE), Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Salaya, Thailand. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3526-9961
  • Sedthapong Laojun Department of Public Health and Health Promotion, College of Allied Health Sciences, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0977-5024

Keywords:

Taxonomy; geometric morphometrics; wing shape variation; species identification; outline-based geometric morphometrics

Abstract

Recent studies have identified wing cells, a substructure of the wing, as carrying taxonomic signals across various mosquito genera. However, the presence of a taxonomic signal in the wing cells of the genus Lutzia (Diptera: Culicidae) has not yet been confirmed. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the outline-based geometric morphometric (GM) approach in distinguishing Lutzia species found in Thailand, namely Lutzia chiangmaiensis, Lutzia fuscana, Lutzia halifaxii, and Lutzia vorax. Materials and Methods: The outline-based geometric morphometrics was employed to analyze four wing elements: the wing contour, the second submarginal cell, the first posterior cell, and the third posterior cell. Results: In the size analysis, Lt. vorax consistently exhibited significantly larger wing elements compared to the other species (p < 0.05). The factor maps based on discriminant analysis for the wing elements among the species indicated that most groups overlapped in morphospace. However, for the third posterior cell, the Lt. vorax group presented a more distinct shape. While shape analysis detected significant differences between almost all species pairs (p < 0.05), there was an exception between Lt. halifaxii and Lt. chiangmaiensis in the first posterior cell (p > 0.05). Additionally, shape analysis further indicated that the third posterior cell achieved the highest percentage of correct classifications, with an adjusted total assignment accuracy of 71%. Conclusion: This finding reveals a significant taxonomic signal in the third posterior cell, suggesting that the outline-based GM approach can effectively complement the landmark-based GM approach in distinguishing Lutzia species.

J. Adv. Vet. Anim. Res., 12(2): 516–528, June 2025

http://doi.org/10.5455/javar.2025.l916

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
4
PDF
3

Downloads

Published

2025-09-17

How to Cite

Chaiphongpachara, T., Changbunjong, T., & Laojun, S. (2025). Taxonomic signal in the wing cells of Lutzia mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Thailand: An outline-based geometric morphometric approach. Journal of Advanced Veterinary and Animal Research, 12(2), 516–528. Retrieved from https://banglajol.info/index.php/JAVAR/article/view/83564

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Tanawat Chaiphongpachara, Tanasak Changbunjong, Sedthapong Laojun

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).