Notes on Trithemis bifida and T. donaldsoni (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Trithemis bifida is reported for the first time from East Africa. Previously there were only two Afrotropical records of this species: one male from Zambia and one male from the Ivory Coast. The male of T. bifida is described and compared with the closely related T. donaldsoni which is also found in East Africa. Taxonomically…

New records of Odonata (Insecta) for the extreme northwest of the Brazilian Amazon

Brazil hosts a wide range of Odonata species, including many hitherto unde¬scribed ones, especially in remote and unexplored regions where logistics are difficult. The northwestern Brazilian Amazon is an example of this situation, and many locations still need to be sampled there and have their taxonomic inventories compiled.

Odonata (Insecta) communities along an elevational gradient in the Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil, with the description of the female of Heteragrion mantiqueirae Machado, 2006

Despite the important role of the order Odonata in ecosystems, there is a lack of information about dragonfly communities in several regions, high elevation sites, and environmentally protected areas in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Our objective was to assess the abundance and richness of dragonfly and damselfly communities along an elevational gradient in the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil.

Flight initiation distance in dragonflies is species-specific, positively related to starting distance and sometimes body length

Predator escape behaviour is a critical component of dragonfly life history. Flight initiation distance is the distance at which escape commences, and is well studied in vertebrates, barely studied in invertebrates, and entirely unstudied in dragonflies. Here we test four principles regarding flight initiation distance as derived from studies of vertebrates to examine if they…

Description of the nymph of Gomphurus gonzalezi (Odonata: Gomphidae)

Gomphurus gonzalezi (Dunkle) is a locally distributed dragonfly ranging from the Lower Rio Grande in south Texas southward to San Luis Potosi state in northeastern Mexico. We describe and illustrate the nymph based on specimens from Hidalgo County, Texas. The palpal lobe of G. gonzalezi has 7–8 small teeth in a straight line with the…

The name-bearing types of Odonata held in the Natural History Museum of Zimbabwe, with systematic notes on Afrotropical taxa. Part 1: introduction and Anisoptera

Orthographic details of 118 name-bearing types of Odonata are provided in two parts: the first and present paper deals with Anisoptera, the second with Zygoptera. 58 types pertain to good species, although the taxonomy of at least four is problematic. The details of 11 ‘holotypes’ of forms are also provided, although these and their names…