Classification within the cosmopolitan genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae): The foundation for molecular systematics and phylogenetic research

- The classification history of the cosmopolitan genus Culex is reviewed.
- Culex includes 768 species in 26 subgenera, many with hierarchies of informal group taxa.
- The taxa are based on superficial similarities rather than natural relationships.
- The taxonomic categories do not represent phylogenetically equivalent lineages.
- The classification is the foundation for systematics and phylogenetic research.