New records for Erythrodiplax fulva (Libellulidae: Odonata) from BrazilABSTRACT
The genus Erythrodiplax is the most species-rich libellulid in the Neotropics. Erythrodiplax fulva is one of the less known species of this genus, with its larva currently unknown and conservation status undefined. It was described based on specimens from Venezuela and later recorded from Guiana and French Guiana. We record the species from Brazil for the first time, comment on the importance of the distributional expansion range of E. fulva and point out the main differences between similar species.
Keywords:
Biogeography; South America; Dragonfly; Cerrado; Vereda
The order Odonata encompasses conspicuous freshwater insects with hemimetabolous cycles that inhabit a wide variety of habitats. They have been recognized as excellent model organisms for environmental characterization and monitoring because of their sensitivity to different stressors, their complex life cycles with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults, and the feasibility of identifying species in the field (Miguel et al., 2017; Ramos et al., 2017).
The genus Erythrodiplax Brauer, 1868 is the most species-rich libellulid in the Neotropics, currently comprised of 60 species (del Palacio et al., 2020). The distributional range varies greatly between species; some of them have wide distributional areas (e.g., E. fusca (Rambur, 1842), E. umbrata (Linnaeus, 1758)), while others are only known from a few records, or their type localities (e.g., E. acanthaBorror, 1942, E. caucaBorror, 1942) (Borror, 1942). Approximately 40 species of Erythrodiplax have been recorded in Brazil (Guillermo-Ferreira et al., 2016), representing approximately 67% of the total species of the genus, 5% of the total odonate diversity in the country (Paulson et al., 2024).
Erythrodiplax fulva Borror, 1957 is one of the less-known species of this genus, with its immature stages currently unknown. It was described based on specimens from Venezuela (Borror, 1957) and later recorded in Guyana and French Guiana (von Ellenrieder, 2009) from marshes and ponds. The last conservation status assessment for this species (von Ellenrieder, 2009) recommended the need for surveys to establish its current distribution and threats. This species is characterized by a small body, reddish head and abdomen, and a big (reaching up to the 3rd antenodal and distal end of triangle in the hind wing) yellow to reddish basal spot on the wings of the male (Figs. 1a, b). In the present research, we record this species for the first time in Brazil (Fig. 2).
Erythrodiplax fulva. a. male, Brazil, Brasilia; b. female, Brazil, Mato Grosso state; c. lateral view of the vesical spermalis, male, Brazil, Brasilia; d. dorsal view of head, male, Brazil, Mato Grosso. LL: Lateral Lobes; ML: Medial Lobes.
Map for Erythrodiplax fulva records in South America. In blue, the State of Mato Grosso and Distrito Federal, both in the Brazilian savannah.
Mato Grosso state: The specimens were collected alongside four streams (Buruti, Chupador, Duílio, and Sucuri, which are tributaries of the Ribeirão Antártico and Pindaíba River) and in Veredas, open and linear phytophysiognomies that occur along narrow watercourses with limp and soaked soil (Boaventura 2007), in Nova Xavantina and Barra do Garças, state of Mato Grosso. The specimens are deposited in Coleção Zoobotânica James Alexander Ratter (CZNX), Laboratório de Entomologia de Nova Xavantina, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso; and in the Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Pará. Material examined- Brazil, Mato Grosso, Nova Xavantina: Chupador stream [-52.50080556, -14.835972], 18-26/IX/2010, 6 m#; Buruti stream [-52.554, -14.75038889], 19-25/IX/2010, T.P. Mendes col., 2 m#; Duilio stream [-52.50230556,-14.805861], 24/IX/2010, T.P. Mendes col., 1 m#, Sucuri stream [-52.021361, -13.0262], 26/V/2008, L. Juen, 4 m#; Veredas [-52.5661, -14.76138889; -52.55055556, -14.764; -52.57638889, -14.8175; -52.61805556, -14.86277778], 7/I/2015 and 7-14/VII/2015, J.D Batista, L.A. Castro e V.R.S Ferreira col., 8m # and 1 f#; Fazenda Destino [-52.082, -12.86361], N. F. S. Giehl col. 1 m#. Barra do Garças [-52.25888889, -15.40888889], 6/I/2015, J.D Batista, L.A. Castro e V.R.S Ferreira col., 1 m#.
Distrito Federal: the specimen was collected in a lake, in the Estação Ecológica Águas Emendadas. The specimen is deposited in the entomological collection of the Laboratorio de Biodiversidad y Genética Ambiental, Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda (BioGeA), Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Material examined – Distrito Federal, Brasilia, Estação Ecológica Águas Emendadas (Lagoa) [-47.6906166666667, - 15.5801], 16/VIII/2011, Rodrigues M.E & Sonoda K.c. col, 1 m#.
Maps with distributional records were prepared using Quantum Gis 3.28.0, and the shapefiles were downloaded from the IUCN and DIVA-GIS website (http://www.diva-gis.org). Location records from Borror (1957) and museum databases (i.e. Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Smithsonian National Museum of National History, Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum Naturalis) were included; coordinates were estimated when absent.
The new occurrences of Erythrodiplax fulva presented in this study increase the geographical distribution area of the species to more than 2000 km2; several of the new records are from urbanized areas and streams. This change in distribution doesn’t imply a change in the IUCN conservation status of the species, which is “Least Concern” (von Ellenrieder, 2009), but further supports it by expanding its distributional area.
All specimens of Erythrodiplax fulva were found in floodplain areas, with grass and palm vegetation (Mauritia flexuosa L.), an environment called vereda. Therefore, open environments with intense light and low humidity seem to be a suitable habitat for this species.
Although Erythrodiplax is one of the most abundant and species-rich genera in South America, the identification at species level is difficult, since several species are almost morphologically identical. In Borror’s key (1942) for the genus’ species, distribution is used as a character to differentiate some species (e.g. the reddish species E. melanorubra and E. abjecta or the blue faced E. clitella and E. media).
The recent expansion of the distribution range of Erythrodiplax fulva has led to sympatry with morphologically similar species, such as E. ochracea (Burmeister, 1839) and E. corallina (Brauer, 1865). Although superficially resembling this “reddish” species—characterized by reddish coloration, large basal wing spots, and relatively small size—E. fulva exhibits distinct morphological features that clearly differentiate it from its congeners. Specifically, the basal spot on the hind wing of E. fulva extends to the 3rd or 4th antenodal crossvein, and its vesica spermalis presents ventrally expanded medial lobes, which are larger than the lateral ones (Figs. 1c, d).
Erythrodiplax fulva differs from E. ochracea primarily in the size of the hind wing's basal spot, which in E. ochracea reaches only the 2nd or 3rd antenodal and the base of the triangle. In contrast, in E. fulva it extends to the 3rd or 4th antenodal and the distal end of the triangle. Furthermore, E. ochracea lacks ventrally expanded medial lobes on the vesica spermalis. The differences with E. corallina are even more pronounced as E. fulva lacks the characteristic “comma”-shaped mark near the spiracle on the pterothorax and the dark markings on the last abdominal segments seen in E. corallina. Additionally, E. corallina lacks the ventrally expanded medial lobes of the vesica spermalis found in E. fulva. All these species can be reliably identified using Borror’s key for the genus and subsequent amendments (Borror, 1942, 1957).
Accurate distributional data are essential for correctly estimating the diversity within this genus, as species can easily be misidentified when such data are lacking.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la Argentina (CONICET). We thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq for providing research productivity grants to LJ (process 304710/2019-9) VRSF (166818/2023-2) and FAPEMAT/CNPq for funding the Veredas-DCR project (process: 257421/2013), as well as CAPES/PROCAD for funding the project “Ecologia da Transição Cerrado-Floresta Amazônica” (process: 88881.068430/2014-01). We also thank Lorivaldo Amancio and Bethânia O. Resende for participating in the field collections.
References
- Boaventura, R. S., 2007. Vereda berço das águas. Ecodinâmica, Belo Horizonte.
- Borror, D. J., 1942. A revision of the Libelluline genus Erythrodiplax (Odonata). Contrib. Zoo. Ento. 4, 97.
- Borror, D. J., 1957. New Erythrodiplax from Venezuela (Odonata: libellulidae). Acta Biol. Venez. 2, 31-42. .
-
del Palacio, A., Muzon, J., Juen, L., Ferreira, V. R. S., Batista, J. D., 2020. Erythrodiplax nataliae sp. nov., a new species for the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. An. Acad. Bras. Cienc. 92 (Suppl. 2), e20181149. http://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202020181149
» http://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202020181149 -
Guillermo-Ferreira, R., Vilela, D. S., Del-Claro, K., Bispo, P., 2016. Erythrodiplax ana sp. nov. (Odonata: Libellulidae) from Brazilian palm swamps. Zootaxa 41 (2), 58-92. http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4158.2.10
» http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4158.2.10 -
Miguel, T. B., Calvão, L. B., Vital, M. V., Juen, L., 2017. A scientometric study of the order Odonata with special attention to Brazil. Int. J. Odonatol. 20 (1), 27-42. http://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2017.1286267
» http://doi.org/10.1080/13887890.2017.1286267 - Paulson, D., Schorr, M., Abbott, J., Bota-Sierra, C., Deliry, C., Dijkstra, K.-D., Lozano, F., 2024. The World Odonata List (Version 2024-07-05). Catalogue of Life, Amsterdam.
-
Ramos, L., Lozano, F., Muzón, J., 2017. Odonata diversity and synanthropy in urban areas: a case study in Avellaneda City, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Neotrop. Entomol. 46 (2), 144-150. http://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-016-0443-5
» http://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-016-0443-5 - von Ellenrieder, N., 2009. Erythrodiplax fulva. In: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (Ed.), IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Cambridge, pp. 1-5.
Edited by
-
Associate Editor:
Fabio Quinteiro
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
27 Jan 2025 -
Date of issue
2025
History
-
Received
07 June 2024 -
Accepted
22 Nov 2024
