This study reported the 15,435 bp-long complete mitochondrial genome of the relict Epiophlebia superstes (Odonata, Epiophlebiidae), an enigmatic dragonfly of the paraphyletic 'Anisozygoptera' possessing characteristics similar to members of both extant odonate suborders, the Zygoptera and the Anisoptera. This mitogenome comprises the common set of 37 genes and an A + T-rich control region, and ...

BACKGROUND Diversity and distribution of Neotropical aquatic insects is still poorly known, with many species to be recorded and many others to be described, due to the small number of taxonomists and sparse faunistic studies. This knowledge is especially poor in the Caatinga Domain in Northeastern Brazil, even though, this region may have played an important historical role in the spatial evol...

The status and distribution of Idionyx Hagen, 1867 (Odonata: Corduliidae), of the Western Ghats, India, is updated and a new species Idionyx gomantakensis is described and illustrated based on male and female specimens from Kulem (= Collem), Goa, India. This new species can be differentiated from other species of Idionyx by long and slender cerci and epiproct, absence of teeth in the basal half...

The female of Erythrodiplax leticia Machado is described and illustrated. The geographic distribution of the species is updated, and notes on its natural history are provided.

In the present study, we examined the effects of different drying conditions on the composition, structure and function of benthic invertebrate assemblages. We approached this objective by comparing invertebrate assemblages in perennial and intermittent sites along two intermittent Mediterranean streams with contrasting predictability, duration, and spatial patterns of drying: Fuirosos (high pr...

Predatory aquatic insects are a diverse group comprising top predators in small fishless water bodies. Knowledge of their diet composition is fragmentary, which hinders the understanding of mechanisms maintaining their high local diversity and of their impacts on local food web structure and dynamics. We conducted multiple-choice predation experiments using nine common species of predatory aqua...

The large, endothermic dragonfly Anax junius regulates the temperatures of its thorax (Tth) and head (Th) during flight. At high ambient temperature (Ta) it is able to dispose of excess heat from the thorax by increasing hemolymph circulation to the abdomen, but recent evidence suggests that heat loss to the abdomen is largely passive at Ta<30 &deg;C. Nevertheless, these insects continue to reg...

Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) is a persistent and ubiquitous environmental contaminant that has been detected in organisms worldwide. Here, we evaluate whether long-term (1 and 4 months) exposure to PFOS contamination affects the behavioural performance of freshwater larvae of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum (Insecta: Odonata). Our results show reduced behavioural performance with in...

The final stadium larva of Coeliccia mingxiensis Xu is described and illustrated. The female adult is also described for the first time. The larva can be easily separated from all known Coeliccia larvae by the following distinct morphological characters: (1) prementum longest in all known Coeliccia larvae; median lobe with 4 pairs of premental setae and palpal lobe with 6 palpal setae; (2) caud...

Using bioclimatic belts as habitat and distribution predictors, the present study examines the implications of the potential distributions of the three Iberian damselflies, Calopteryx Leach (Odonata: Calopterygidae), with the aim of investigating the possible consequences in specific interactions among the species from a sexual selection perspective and of discussing biogeographical patterns. T...