Volume 6, 2003

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.

Macromia hamata sp. nov. from Guizhou, China (Odonata: Corduliidae)

The new species (holotype ♂ 01 August 2001, Fanjingshan, Guizhou, China) is described and illustrated from a single male, deposited at the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History.

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…

Teinobasis budeni sp. nov. from Pohnpei, Eastern Caroline Islands, Micronesia (Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

Teinobasis budeni sp. nov. is described from Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Holotype ♂: Micronesia, Pohnpei, Sokehs, Nanpil River headwaters, 01 July 2001; allotype ♀: same locality, 03 February 2001, both leg. D.W. Buden; to be deposited in FSCA, Gainesville, FL, USA. The new species belongs in the Fortis-group and differs from all species in…

An extended description of the larva of Megaloprepus caerulatus from Costa Rica (Odonata: Pseudostigmatidae)

The larva of Megaloprepus caerulatus is described and illustrated from specimens collected near the northern border of Barbilla National Park on the Costa Rican Caribbean slope. Habits and characters of larvae of three different size classes obtained from artificial tree holes permit the identification of small (body length 4 mm, excluding the caudal lamellae) larvae…

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…

Rediscovery of Amanipodagrion gilliesi, with notes on habitat, behaviour and conservation (Odonata: Megapodagrionidae)

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…

Volume 6, Issue 1

Volume 6, Issue 2

Reproductive behaviour of Odonata: the history of a mystery

The main, externally visible components of odonate reproductive behaviour were known from published accounts for about 300 years before sperm displacement during copulation was first described. The latter discovery, revealed by Jonathan Waage in 1979, revolutionised the interpretation of odonate reproductive behaviour, allowing it for the first time to be interpreted convincingly in the context…

A synopsis of the genus Triacanthagyna (Odonata: Aeshnidae)

This synopsis of adult Triacanthagyna includes the revalidation of two species thought to be synonyms (T. nympha and T. obscuripennis), the description of a new species (T. williamsoni; type locality: Peru, Tingo María), keys to both sexes, illustrations of diagnostic characters, and distribution maps of all species. A phylogenetic assessment of the nine species is…

Odonata from the Republic of Mongolia and from the Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia

Thirty-five dragonfly species are reported from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. Three are first records. A non-parametric test is used to determine the total number of species to be expected. It suggests that the current number of 62 may be asymptotically complete, except for some specific zones like the Bulgan valley in the south-west, and the…

Problems in Chlorocypha classification: four cases from West Africa and a discussion of the taxonomic pitfalls (Odonata: Chlorocyphidae)

The taxonomy of Chlorocypha species is problematic due to variability and the paucity of morphological characters. Subspecies radix of C. glauca is raised to specific rank. C. sharpae is found to be a synonym of C. luminosa. The synonymy of C. jejuna with C. luminosa is rejected. The former species is similar to the Southern…

Lamproneura lucerna gen. nov., sp. nov. from Venezuela, and Cyanallagma ferenigrum sp. nov., a remarkable new species from Brazil (Odonata: Protoneuridae, Coenagrionidae)

Lamproneura lucerna gen. nov., sp. nov. (Protoneuridae) is described from a male from the Turimiquire mountains, in northeastern Venezuela. Penis morphology places the new genus close to Forcepsioneura, Psaironeura and Roppaneura., The first Venezuelan record of the genus Phasmoneura is presented. Cyanallagma ferenigrum sp. nov. (Coenagrionidae) is described from a male and a female from…