The taxonomy of Chlorocypha species is problematic due to variability and the paucity of morphological characters. Subspecies radix of C. glauca is raised to specific rank. C. sharpae is found to be a synonym of C. luminosa. The synonymy of C. jejuna with C. luminosa is rejected. The former species is similar to the Southern…
In recent decades, a lack of available knowledge about the magnitude, identity and distribution of biodiversity has given way to a taxonomic impediment where species are not being described as fast as the rate of extinction. Using Machine Learning methods based on seven different algorithms (LR, CART, KNN, GNB, LDA, SVM and RFC) we have created an automatic identification approach for odonate genera, through images of wing contours.
Inland sand areas scattered across the North American eastern deciduous forest and western tallgrass prairie ecotone are known for supporting pyrogenic early-successional vegetation and specially adapted terrestrial faunas. Many of these globally and regionally rare systems contain functionally connected wetland networks (“wetscapes”) potentially important for aquatic insects.
Mitigation measures carried out at the regulated metarhithron Gurtenbach in Upper Austria were evaluated by a survey of the dragonfly fauna. The assessment method developed in this study was based on the longitudinal distribution of dragonflies along riverine biocoenotic regions (the “Rhithron-Potamon-Concept” explains changes in species composition along a river’s length). Numerically expressed habitat preferences…
We revisit the hypothesis, first advanced in 1962, that, with regard to their means of thermoregulation and overt behaviour, two types of Odonata can be recognised: fliers, when active (during reproductive activity, primarily, or foraging) remain on the wing, whereas perchers, when similarly engaged, spend most of the time on a perch from which they…
Quantitative data are essential for many aspects of ecological research. Several methods exist to quantify odonate abundance, but complications may arise when abundances in different habitats need to be compared. In this study, I explored a technique that can overcome the variable detectability of odonates in habitats with different visibility. Distance sampling is briefly introduced…
The Afrotropical ‘neodythemistine’ genera are an example of venation-biased classification in Odonata. This example is used to argue the bankruptcy of some traditional classifications in the order, particularly in the Libellulidae, and the need to apply alternative characters to define genera. Two groups of Afrotropical ‘neodythemistines’ are identified by male and female genitalia, supported by…
This paper, a companion to Part I which treated status and distribution of Numidian Odonata, summarizes current knowledge of their seasonal ecology and identifies areas where promising research avenues exist. Annual patterns of adult occurrence and reproductive activity are used to infer life cycles, with particular reference to strategies that enable species to bridge the…
This paper is dedicated to Philip S. Corbet on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Litheuphaea ludwigi sp. n. is described as first representative of Epallagidae from Baltic amber. The holotype of Litheuphaea carpenteri Fraser, 1955 is redescribed, the phylogenetic position of all fossil Epallagidae is discussed, and a new phylogenetic classification is proposed. The authorship of Selys (1853) for the family-group name Euphaeidae is rejected, since the “légion Euphaea”…