Local extinctions and range contraction of the endangered Coenagrion mercuriale in North Africa

Freshwater biodiversity is currently threatened worldwide. In North Africa, 24.4% of Odonata are regionally threatened with extinction. In this region, freshwater resources are particularly scarce and an increasing shortage of water is expected. To better understand the current threats to the endangered North African damselfly Coenagrion mercuriale we updated information on extinct and extant populations…

Pyrrhosoma and its relatives: a phylogenetic study (Odonata: Zygoptera)

The placement and relationships of the red-and-black zygopteran Pyrrhosoma, currently considered to be part of the Teinobasinae, has long been uncertain. DNA fragments (COI and ITS) reveal that Pyrrhosoma s.s. is restricted to the West Palaearctic, with two morphologically distinct name-bearing clades (nymphula, elisabethae), and with a morphologically indistinct third clade in the Middle Atlas,…