The Odonata of Argentina: state of knowledge and updated checklist

An updated checklist of the 282 species of Odonata known to occur in Argentina is presented along with distributional information by province and ecoregion. Ten new records for the country and 87 new provincial records are provided. At present, 17 species of Odonata are considered endemic to Argentina, and distribution maps for each of them…

Ecological correlates of odonate assemblages of a Mediterranean stream, Wadi Cherf, northeastern Algeria: implications for conservation

We investigated the odonates of Wadi Cherf, a tributary of Wadi Seybouse, and explored the main environmental factors that may be important drivers of the abundance and diversity of Odonata assemblages. PCA analyses demonstrated a significant altitudinal gradient associated with water flow, temperature, vegetation cover, substrate and adjacent land use. Notably, pollution was a dominant…

A hotspot for threatened Mediterranean odonates in the Seybouse River (Northeast Algeria): are IUCN population sizes drastically underestimated?

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,…

Aspects of life history of Platycnemis subdilatata (Zygoptera: Platycnemididae) in Northeast Algeria

The determination of seasonal regulation is important to understand how species have adapted to their local environmental conditions. In this study, we investigate the life history of a North African endemic damselfly, Platycnemis subdilatata, in a northeast Algerian population. We combined field and laboratory investigations to assess the embryonic development, larval growth, emergence pattern and…

Archineura incarnata (Karsch, 1892) and Atrocalopteryx melli (Ris, 1912) in southern China (Odonata: Calopterygidae)

The calopterygines Archineura incarnata and Atrocalopteryx melli are subtropical habitat specialists, endemic to China, and sensitive to environmental change. We identified several sites with environmental deterioration from which the species seem to have disappeared; these species can be used as indicators of human disturbance. In this paper their distribution in China is mapped and information…

Oviposition behaviour of Sympetrum frequens (Selys) (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Oviposition behaviour by Sympetrum frequens, a species endemic to Japan, has been observed throughout its entire breeding season, which extended for about one month after the harvest of rice. Approximately 50% of oviposition events occurred during the first week of the reproduction period. Sunny oviposition sites were preferentially selected by ovipositing pairs. The starting time…

Odonata biodiversity of the Argentine Chaco biome

Odonates of small temporary pools, marshes, large permanent ponds, oxbow lakes, dams, and perennial rivers were sampled in the semiarid Chaco biome of NW Argentina between September 2007 and December 2008. Information from 35 localities yielded 60 species; presence/absence information of species was recorded in a spatial-relational database. Alpha, beta, and gamma diversity and total…