Identification of Pyrrhosoma elisabethae with notes on its distribution and habitat (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Abstract

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 P. nymphula in both males and females, and present a key that distinguishes these two taxa. These structural differences, combined with the lack of intermediates, suggests that P. elisabethae should be treated as a full species. Notes on habitat associations and flying season of P. elisabethae are also given.

Keywords: Odonata, Dragonfly, Pyrrhosoma, Taxonomy, Greece, Albania

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