Anopheles (Kerteszia) lepidotus (Diptera: Culicidae), not the malaria vector we thought it was: Revised male and female morphology; larva, pupa, and male genitalia characters; and molecular verification.

The name Anopheles (Kerteszia) lepidotus Zavortink, commonly used for an important malaria vector in the eastern cordillera of the Andes, is here corrected to An. pholidotus Zavortink. We discovered that An. (Ker.) specimens from Peru, and reared-associated specimens from Ecuador, had unambiguous habitus characters that matched those on the male holotype of An. lepidotus. However, the specimens do not exhibit characters of the female allotype and female paratypes of An. lepidotus, which are actually An. pholidotus. Our specimens are the first correctly associated females of An. lepidotus, which allow us to provide a new morphological interpretation for the adult habitus of this species. This finding is also corroborated by molecular data from a portion of the Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene and ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (rDNA ITS2). The pupal stage of An. lepidotus is described for the first time, and additional larval characters are also noted. Diagnostic morphological characters for the adult, pupal, and larval stages of An. pholidotus are provided to separate the two species. All stages of An. lepidotus are easily separated from other currently known species in subgenus Kerteszia and a new key to the females of An. (Kerteszia) is given. Previously published distribution, bionomics, and medical significance data are corrected and enhanced.