Evelyn D.V. Prendergast (1918–2001)

E.D.V. Prendergast retired from a military career in 1973 and henceforth actively pursued many natural history and field sports interests. Studies of birds were followed in the later years by significant work on Odonata. A systematic study of the species’ distributions of Gambian dragonflies and conservation work involving Coenagrion mercuriale were especially important.

Nested-subset structure of larval odonate assemblages in the Enoree River basin, USA

Communities have a nested-subset structure if the species found in species-poor assemblages are also found in progressively more species-rich assemblages. This nested-subset structure can be caused by differential colonization rates among species, differential extinction rates among species, or nested niche space. In this study, the assemblages of larval odonates in the Enoree River of South…

Population dynamics of Mortonagrion hirosei (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

The mark-and-recapture method was used to study the population dynamics of the endangered brackish water species, Mortonagrion hirosei, in a small reed community of an estuary in the warm-temperate zone of Japan. The flying season was from late May to early August. The age structure showed that newly emerged adults always stayed in the reed…

The Odonata of Pohnpei, Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia

A collection of 448 Odonata specimens made on Pohnpei, Caroline Islands, Micronesia, in 2001–2002 allows a reassessment of the fauna of this small, isolated island. There are 15 species, including six species of the zygopteran genus Teinobasis, which apparently speciated in situ, an unusually great diversity for such a small island. One of these species…

Fooled by the double: Brachythemis liberiensis is Parazyxomma flavicans, with a note on the Zyxommatini (Odonata: Libellulidae)

A comparison of the description of Brachythemis liberiensis with material of B. leucosticta and Parazyxomma flavicans has shown that B. liberiensis is a synonym of P. flavicans. B. liberiensis should be removed from the list of threatened African Odonata. The relationships between the genus Brachythemis and the Zyxommatini are briefly discussed. Further arguments for a…

Identity and distribution of the little known Aeshna meruensis (Odonata: Aeshnidae)

Status and records of Aeshna meruensis are published for the first time. This species has been confused with A. rileyi for a long time, although A.R. Waterston separated and labelled specimens of both species in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London, as early as 1974. A. meruensis is known from seven localities in…