| Sabethes lutzii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Culicidae |
| Genus: | Sabethes |
| Species: | S. lutzii |
| Binomial name | |
| Sabethes lutzii (Theobald, 1903, nomen dubium) | |
Sabethes lutzii is a species name designated a "nomen dubium" i.e., a "dubious (or doubtful) name," for a mosquito specimen that remains insufficiently evidenced to be accepted as a proved species. [1]
Sabethes lutzii was first characterized in 1903 from a damaged specimen collected in Manaós, Brazil, in a letter written by the first scientist to view it, physician Dr. Adolfo Lutz, to entomologist Dr. Frederick V. Theobald who then described it in published literature. [1] [2] The specimen was described as large in relative size, of a very dark blue uniform metallic color, and differing from other species by the lack of white scales marking the femurs. [3]
Theobald indicated that the holotype specimen was in the British Museum (Natural History) collection, but it was not located there by a later researcher. [1] More recent researchers have speculated that the holotype specimen may be represented by a slide of a mosquito wing marked "da Coll. do Dr. Lutz/XI-930/C.L." in the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz collection. [4] However, due to the lack of certainty, the name is currently considered a nomen dubium. [5]
