We reconstruct a phylogenetic framework for the zygopteran family Lestidae based on a molecular dataset comprised of sequence data from the genes COI, 16S, 18S, 28S, and ITS1+2 from 41 ingroup taxa and 8 outgroup taxa with emphasis on the systematic position of the genus Chalcolestes Kennedy.
Inpabasis intermedia sp. n. (holotype ♂: Peru, Loreto Región) is described and illustrated. An illustrated key to both sexes is given for all members of the genus. Males of I. intermedia can be distinguished from its congeners by the angled division laterally between dark and light areas of the pterothorax…
Tropical America is currently experiencing the establishment of a new apex insect predator, the Paleotropical dragonfly Hemianax ephippiger (Odonata: Aeshnidae). H. ephippiger is migratory and is suggested to have colonised the eastern Neotropics by chance Trans-Atlantic displacement. We report the discovery of H. ephippiger at three new locations in the Caribbean, the islands of Bonaire,…
A new species of Ceylonosticta from the wet zone of Sri Lanka is described and illustrated, namely Ceylonosticta goodalei sp. nov. (Kuruwita-Erathana foot path, Seethagangula, Adam’s Peak, Samanala Nature Reserve, Ratnapura, 6.8196°N, 80.4615°E, 1109 m asl). The species is described from male specimens only and the genital ligula is described and illustrated. Females are as…
Aciagrion Selys, 1891 is one of the taxonomically difficult and poorly known genera of Oriental damselflies. Aciargion hisopa race krishna Fraser, 1921 was described from Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra, India. However, later Fraser (1933) doubted the taxonomic necessity of this taxon. His notion of Aciagrion hisopa (Selys, 1876) was erroneous, as evidenced by syntypes of this species…
Several odonate species are threatened in the Mediterranean basin and some of them show alarming decreasing trends. The distribution and population estimations provided by the IUCN are based on occasional field sampling or non-rigorous methodologies and could be erroneous and misleading. To obtain reliable estimations of the population size and distribution of three threatened species,…
The Colombian Amazon is one of the most biodiverse and unexplored regions in the world. Inventories and deeper research are needed for most of its biota, including for dragonflies. This work reports the results of a trip to the Amazon region in order to collect Odonata. It includes revision of CBUCES, CEUA and ICN entomological…
Odonates in (slow) motion: a tribute to Georg Rüppell Dagmar Hilfert-Rüppella , Andreas Martensb , Frank Suhlingc Institut für Fachdidaktik der Naturwissenschaften, Abteilung Biologie und Biologiedidaktik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany University of Education Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Germany Institut für Geoökologie, Division Landscape Ecology and Environmental System Analysis, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany International Journal of (more…)
While phylogeographic data provide valuable information to inform conservation plans, there are comparatively few Odonata phylogeographic studies. This lack of research is partially due to a lack of independent DNA markers with appropriate levels of polymorphism that PCR-amplify in a range of species. We followed an exon-primed, intron-crossing (EPIC) PCR strategy to develop five new,…
Rhinocypha taiwana Wang & Chang, sp. nov. is described and illustrated for both sexes. The genetic distance of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene in R. taiwana and related species ranges from 4.2% to 10.4%. R. taiwana is shown to be a good species based on morphological and genetic criteria. It also is clearly…