Erythrodiplax fulva Borror, 1957

Erythrodiplax fulva Borror, 1957 View in CoL

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 3 rd antenodal and distal end of triangle in the hind wing) yellow to reddish basal spot on the wings of the male ( Figs. 1a, b View Figure 1 ). In the present research, we record this species for the first time in Brazil ( Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ).

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 #; GoogleMaps Buruti stream [ -52.554, -14.75038889], 19-25/IX/2010, T.P. Mendes col., 2 m #; GoogleMaps Duilio stream [ -52.50230556, -14.805861], 24/IX/2010, T.P. Mendes col., 1 m #, GoogleMaps Sucuri stream [ -52.021361, -13.0262], 26/V/2008, L. Juen, 4 m #; GoogleMaps 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 #; GoogleMaps Fazenda Destino [ -52.082, -12.86361], N. F. S. Giehl col. 1 m #. GoogleMaps Barra do Garças [ -52.25888889, -15.40888889], 6/I/2015, J.D Batista, L.A. Castro e V.R.S Ferreira col., 1 m GoogleMaps #.

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 km 2; 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 ofErythrodiplax 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 View Figure 1 ).

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.