Trithemis bifida is reported for the first time from East Africa. Previously there were only two Afrotropical records of this species: one male from Zambia and one male from the Ivory Coast. The male of T. bifida is described and compared with the closely related T. donaldsoni which is also found in East Africa. Taxonomically…
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…
Amanipodagrion gilliesi was known previously only from four males collected in 1959 and 1962 in the Usambara Mountains, south-east Tanzania. Recently it has been rediscovered at two shady streams in that area. The species is not living in swamps, as previously stated, but is apparently restricted to a small area in the Amani-Sigi Forest. Data…
The morphology of the last stadium larvae of the African Coryphagrion grandis is described for the first time, based on one exuvia and three last instar larvae from Kenya. Taxonomically important morphological characters are illustrated and discussed. Important characters are the shape of the larval caudal appendages, the labial palpi and the branched setae on…
Oviposition in water-filled tree holes and mating behaviour of Hadrothemis scabrifrons was observed in a lowland coastal forest in Kenya. Conforming with the predominant mode of oviposition in the Libellulidae, females of H. scabrifrons touch the water with their ovipositor while hovering above tree holes. Male behaviour is opportunistic: usually males perch and patrol in…
We analysed COI and ITS sequences from a total of 69 European Pyrrhosoma nymphula (Sulzer, 1776) and three P. elisabethae Schmidt, 1948 to explore species boundaries and phylogeographic patterns in their Western Palearctic distributions.
Understanding the seasonal regulation and life cycle patterns of Odonata is critical to identifying the factors that influence their voltinism. While the life history and seasonal regulation of Odonata, particularly gomphids, has been studied extensively, few studies have focused on North African gomphids.
We analyse COI sequences of 48 specimens of European Lestes virens (Charpentier) to explore patterns in genetic diversity including subspecific boundaries and potential glacial refugia. Our haplotype network and phylogenetic analyses reveal three distinct groups in Western and Northern Europe.
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)….
Coenagrion mercuriale is a threatened damselfly in most parts of its geographic distribution. It is listed as endangered in North Africa, where no data on its biology or ecology are available. This study aims to illustrate the reproductive behaviour and habitat preferences of adults in a population located in north-east Algeria, representing the southern limit…