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.
Among insects, perhaps the most appreciated are those that are esthetically pleasing: few capture the interest of the public as much as vibrantly colored dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata). These remarkable insects are also extensively studied. Here, we review the history of odonate systematics, with an emphasis on discrepancies among studies. Over the past century,…
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…
Two Cordulia species have been described so far, the Eurasian C. aenea and the North American vicariant C. shurtleffii. The names amurensis, tatrica, turfosa, laubmanni, linaenea and aeneaturfosa are available in the synonymy of C. aenea. Out of these, only the name amurensis is deemed to denote a separate taxon, which is currently regarded as…
The taxonomic status of the Central Asian damselfly Calopteryx samarcandica was determined on the basis of molecular and phenotypic data from the Kugitang Mountains, SE Uzbekistan.
The poorly known Ceriagrion mourae is redescribed based on the first material from Zambia and compared with the similar C. banditum, C. junceum and C. suave. Molecular data place C. mourae as a sister taxon to the clade (C. bakeri (C. banditum, C. junceum)). Genetic distances between the above-mentioned species are similar at c.7–9% (K2P)….