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.
Dragonflies and damselflies are hosts to a variety of parasites and pathogens. However, very few studies have investigated which viruses infect dragonflies and damselflies. Here, based on next generation RNA sequencing of RNA from Leucorrhinia dubia (Libellulidae, Anisoptera) and Coenagrion puella (Coenagrionidae, Zygoptera) larvae, data on putative viruses present in odonates are reported. In both…
Pyrrhosoma elisabethae is one of the rarest and least known odonate taxa in Europe and is often considered to be a subspecies of P. nymphula. The taxon is known from eight localities, four on the Peloponnisos, Greece, three on Kérkira (Corfu), Greece, and one in southern Albania. We describe structural differences between P. elisabethae and…
The taxonomy of the Gynacantha and Heliaeschna species from continental Africa is problematic, and available keys are unsatisfactory. ‘Traditional’ characters such as venation and ‘innovative’ ones like abdominal denticulation are evaluated and their variability is measured and discussed. G. quadrina is a synonym of G. africana and not of G. vesiculata, G. ochraceipes is regarded…
The traditional method of classifying the twenty-one species within the South American genus Polythore has been relying on wing color patterns and male genital ligula shape. However, recent molecular research has shown that wing color patterns can vary significantly within some species, making it an insufficient means of species diagnosis by itself in some cases.
Although Ischnura aurora (Brauer, 1865) was traditionally considered to be widely distributed in Asia, the populations west of continental China have recently been identified as equivalent to Ischnura rubilio Selys, 1876.
Coenagrion castellani Roberts, 1948 was described from Italy as a distinct species almost 75 years ago but has generally not been recognised or was treated as a subspecies of C. mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840). Populations south of the Alps were recently shown to be completely isolated genetically from those in North Africa and elsewhere in Europe.
The taxonomy and distribution of dragonflies of the genus Heliogomphus from the Western Ghats of southern India are discussed. A morphological study of fresh male specimens from the field, as well as holotypes and lectotypes from repositories was undertaken.
Environmental management is one of the most important activities in ecological conservation at present. Faced with various socioeconomic impacts (e.g., urbanization, agriculture, and logging), practical and effective ways to analyze and determine how biodiversity is affected by these anthropogenic activities are essential.
The Indian Elattoneura are a difficult group to identify due to their extreme morphological similarity and sparse information in identification keys and on geographical distribution. The ambiguity is prominent among two Peninsular Indian Elattoneura species, E. nigerrima (Laidlaw, 1917) and E. tetrica (Laidlaw, 1917), described a hundred years ago.