Commented checklist of the Odonata from Colombia

Cornelio A. Bota-Sierraa , Karen Álvarez-Álvarezb , Vanessa Amayac , Beatriz Carrillo Camargod , Laura L. Garzón-Salamancae , Alejandro Hoyosf , Cristian C. Mendoza-Penagosc,g , Jenilee Montes-Fontalvod,h , Fredy Palacino-Rodríguezi,j , León A. Pérez-Gutiérrezd,k , Emilio Realpec , Melissa Sánchez Herrerac,l,m , Juliana Sandoval-Hn , Miguel Stand-Pérezd,o , Mónica Torres-Pachónp,q , Maria Isabel Velásquezc , Yiselle Cano-Cobosc,r

  1. Grupo de Entomología Universidad de Antioquia (GEUA), Medellín-Colombia. AA 1226
  2. Grupo de Investigación Evaluación, Manejo y Conservación de Recursos Hidrobiológicos y Pesqueros (GIREHPES), Semillero de Investigación JIACACU, Universidad de los Llanos, Meta, Colombia
  3. Laboratorio de Zoología y Ecología Acuática (LAZOEA), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
  4. Grupo de Investigación Biodiversidad del Caribe Colombiano, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Atlántico, Barranquilla, Colombia
  5. Laboratorio de entomología, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia
  6. Semillero de entomología Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombi
  7. Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação (LABECO), Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
  8. Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola Francisco Fernandez Yepes, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Maracay, Venezuela
  9. Sección Etología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
  10. Grupo de Investigación en Odonatos y otros Artrópodos de Colombia y el Neotrópico, Bogotá, Colombia
  11. Laboratory of Systematics on Aquatic Insects (LABSIA), Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, P. O. Box 19020, 81531-980, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
  12. Department of Museum Research & Collections. University of Alabama Museums. Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
  13. Division of Invertebrate Zoology. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
  14. Independent researcher
  15. Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, México
  16. Grupo de Investigación Interculturalidad, ciencia y tecnología (INTERCITEC-UPN), Departamento de Biología, Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia
  17. Programa de Investigación Corporación Sentido Natural, Bogotá, Colombia
  18. Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Genética Ambiental (BioGeA), Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda, Piñeyro 1870, Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 27, Pages 103-150, 2024
https://doi.org/10.48156/1388.2024.1917280
Published: 18 June 2024 (Received: 1 March 2024, Accepted: 5 June 2024)

Abstract

Colombian odonatological history was scarce until two decades ago. Here, we present an updated, thoroughly vetted, and refined checklist of taxonomic and geographical records of Colombian odonates, built upon the previous publication in 2011. To achieve this, we conducted an extensive literature review, and curated the most representative biological collections of odonates in the country. Our goal was to integrate new records and recently described species, while excluding misidentifications or doubtful identifications due to a lack of support from taxonomic revisions and specimens in collections. We report a total of 536 species, reflecting a 38% increase in odonate richness since the last published checklist in 2011. This number positions Colombia among the top ten countries with the highest number of odonates worldwide. We include important taxonomic details for each species in the checklist, the availability of female and/or larva description(s), and the IUCN species assessment. We also highlight rare or puzzling species, which records for the country are controversial. It is noteworthy that the majority of these contributions stem from local Colombian research efforts that have enriched our national reference collections, including ANDES-E, CEUA, and UARC. Geographically, the department with the highest diversity is Meta with 205 species followed by Antioquia with 170 species. The latter holds the highest number of endemics across the country. We anticipate that this effort will be the basis and inspiration to future research on Colombian odonatofauna, especially in underexplored areas, and will encourage conservation initiatives for freshwater ecosystems across the country.

Keywords: Amazon, Andes, Biogeographic Chocó, Caribbean, damselfly, distribution, diversity, dragonfly, Neotropics, Orinoco Basin

Issue section: Original Article