New EPIC nuclear DNA sequence markers to improve the resolution of phylogeographic studies of coenagrionids and other odonates

While phylogeographic data provide valuable information to inform conservation plans, there are comparatively few Odonata phylogeographic studies. This lack of research is partially due to a lack of independent DNA markers with appropriate levels of polymorphism that PCR-amplify in a range of species. We followed an exon-primed, intron-crossing (EPIC) PCR strategy to develop five new,…

Hybridization between Calopteryx splendens and C. haemorrhoidalis confirmed by morphological and genetic analyses

Hybridization between Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis and any of its congeners has not been reported until now. We observed spontaneous matings between male C. splendens and female C. haemorrhoidalis at a locality in Central Italy, together with some putative hybrid individuals that had a mixed phenotype. Here, we report the morphological and molecular characterization of five suspected…

The Pseudagrion split: molecular phylogeny confirms the morphological and ecological dichotomy of Africa’s most diverse genus of Odonata (Coenagrionidae)

The continental African representatives of the genus Pseudagrion fall into two groups (A and B) based on their ecology and larval and adult morphology. While the B-group species are found in generally warmer habitats, which are more sunny, lentic or low-lying, the A-group representatives occur more in cooler habitats. We compared molecular genetic and ecological…

Microneura is a junior synonym of Protoneura (Zygoptera, Coenagrionidae)

Microneura caligata (Hagen in Selys, 1886) is an endangered damselfly presently known from five localities in the central mountains of Cuba. The precise systematic position of this species within the former Neotropical Protoneuridae has been the subject of debate, with previous results from a phylogenetic analysis based on morphology suggesting that the genus Microneura should…

Morphometric and molecular studies on the populations of the damselflies Chalcolestes viridis and C. parvidens (Odonata, Lestidae)

Morphometric and genetic differences were analysed for two closely related damselflies, Chalcolestes viridis and C. parvidens. A total of 305 male individuals were collected from six European countries (Austria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Portugal). Measurements from a total of 28 populations of C. viridis and C. parvidens and several intermediate forms were collected to…