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Distribution of Brachythemis fuscopalliata (triangles) and B. contaminata (dots) in Iran. Closed symbols: records from 2010 onwards, open symbols: records before 2010.
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Iran has a complex dragonfly fauna influenced by contacts and overlaps of different geographical zones. Its fauna is dominated by Eurosiberian taxa. However, the SE Province Sistãn-va-Baluchestãn is rich in oriental species, many of which having their western distribution limit in Iran. In NE-Iran, Irano-Turanian elements live and in the S- and SW-...
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Citations
... This species can be recognized by its characteristic flight style, oviposition mode (with females perching on stones or vegetation while introducing the abdomen into the water; see Martens, 2015), and perching position, and by its pattern of colouration with dark navy or black background, marked with yellow spots and some metallic shining. This species is common in tropical Africa, the Middle East, Arabia, a few parts of Southern Europe, and Oriental regions (Fraser, 1936;Dumont, 1991;Askew, 2004;Kalkman, 2006;Kunz et al., 2006;Boudot & Kalkman, 2015;Martens, 2015;Schneider et al., 2018a;Dijkstra et al., 2020). Crocothemis sanguinolenta (Burmeister, 1839) (Little Scarlet) is another common Afrotropical species in most South Africa and some parts of the Arabian Peninsula as a relict species and recently was recorded from Iran (Schneider & Dumont, 1997;Schneider, 2004;Boudot et al., 2009; Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 2024 10 (1) Schneider et al., 2018b;Tarboton & Tarboton 2019). ...
... Different characters may be considered as an adaptation for hot and dry habitats (Schneider, 1982;Dijkstra & Dingemanse, 2000;Schneider et al., 2018b). Both species are regarded as vagrant species that immigrate across the Hormuz Strait to a limited area in the south of Iran (Heidari & Dumont, 2002;Ebrahimi et al., 2009Ebrahimi et al., , 2014Schneider & Dumont, 2015;Schneider et al., 2018a;Schneider et al., 2018b;Schneider & Ikemeyer, 2019). ...
... Previous research suggests that the low winter temperatures in the areas where these two species were first recorded are the reasons for unsuccessful breeding in the Kerman province. Additionally, all observed or captured specimens of Z. torridus in Iran until now were males only (Heidari & Dumont, 2002;Ebrahimi et al., 2009Ebrahimi et al., , 2014Schneider et al., 2018a;Schneider et al., 2018b;Schneider & Ikemeyer, 2019). Thus, these arguments suggest recent immigration as the main reason to explain the presence of these species in Iran. ...
For the first time, exuviae of Crocothemis sanguinolenta and Zygonyx torridus were collected from southern parts of Iran. Females of Z. torridus were also observed mating and ovipositing in two habitats. According to our data, these two species successfully breed in some suitable microhabitats and are neither immigrants nor vagrants. Our findings based on this research and recent information showed that habitat dispersal for these two species is not limited to the Hormuz Strait region, as previously thought. Suitable habitats for Z. torridus expanded from the Southwest to the East of the country. For C. sanguinolenta, the habitat range covers the far southeastern parts of the country near the Pakistan border area. Based on the geological history of the Persian Gulf region in the last glacial period and similar African coexisting species in these microhabitats, we suggest that these species are relict populations that survived in a few suitable habitats from a wider area in the past. This view seems more appropriate to explain the current distribution of these species than their recent migration from the UAE or Oman regions.
... Actually, the proximal part of this yellow lobe may be also seen from above proximal to the tooth in E. cyathigerum, as depicted by Benedek (1968: fig. 6 »European specimens«) and Schneider et al. (2018: fig. 11d, Iran, Mazandran, Lake Valasht). ...
... m.) belongs to E. deserti, and even the costal half of the wing except for the radius has light wing veins like in North African ♂♂ of E. deserti!«. Currently, such specimens from Iran are attributed to E. risi (Kosterin & Ahmadi 2018;Schneider et al. 2018). Most importantly, neither Ris (1928) nor Schmidt (1961) explicitly reported any difference between the Central Asian specimens (including the type series of E. risi) and E. deserti! ...
... The proper taxonomic rank of rotundatum is another issue. Its junior synonym, E. risi, was considered a bona fide species by several authors Turgeon et al. 2005;Bernard & Kosterin 2010;Callahan & McPeek 2016;Boudot et al. 2021), while others regarded it as the subspecies E. cyathigerum risi (Samraoui et al. 2002;Kosterin & Zaika 2010, 2011Schröter et al. 2015;Kosterin & Ahmadi 2018;Schneider et al. 2018). Authors from both parties used molecular phylogeny in their attempts to clarify the issue (Samraoui et al. 2002;Turgeon et al. 2005;Callahan & McPeek 2016). ...
Enallagma cyathigerum var. rotundatum Bartenef, 1929, Leucorrhinia circassica Bartenef, 1929, and Aeschna juncea var. atshischgho Bartenef, 1929, were described by A.N. Bartenev (= Bartenef) in three papers published in 1929 and 1930. Their type locality was the same highland lake group near Krasnaya Polyana Town in West Caucasus, Russia, presently known as the Khmelevskie Lakes. Their type series most probably no longer exist. Topotypes of the two former taxa obtained in 2008 and 2013, respectively, were examined as well as a specimen supposedly of the third taxon, collected 36 km from the type locality. Based on these specimens, E. cyathigerum rotundatum is concluded to be a valid subspecies and the senior subjective synonym of Enallagma risi Schmidt, 1961, and L. circassica to be a junior subjective synonym of Leucorrhinia dubia (Vander Linden, 1825). The status of A. juncea atshischgho remains unresolved. Re-evaluation of available knowledge of the Palaearctic Enallagma spp. suggested downgrading Enallagma deserti (Selys, 1879) to the subspecies, E. cyathigerum deserti.
... Deserts and the Persian Gulf might be effective barriers to separating Afrotropical populations from the other Asian populations (Jödicke et al., 2004). Further, investigations of Odonata diversity across Iran show that I. senegalensis is only found in the province of Sistãn-va-Baluchestãn near Pakistan (Schneider et al., 2018). Therefore, the Iranian highland might be another barrier to the gene exchange between Afrotropical populations and the other Asian populations. ...
Ischnura senegalensis Rambur, 1842 is among the most widespread damselfly species in the world. Unlike dragonflies with strong migration abilities, I. senegalensis have limited dispersing abilities. Gene flow among I. senegalensis populations may be greatly influenced by anthropogenic disturbance, fragmented suitable habitats, sea straits, or even global warming. In this study, to investigate the genetic diversity of I. senegalensis populations, we sequenced and collected 498 cytochrome oxidase I sequences across the Old World. Haplotype network analysis showed 51 haplotypes and I. senegalensis could be grouped into four regions (Afrotropical region, Oriental region, main Islands of Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands), each of which contains different dominant haplotypes. Based on molecular variance analysis, we found that populations from the Afrotropical region have quite a low gene flow with the Asian populations (except Yemen). Furthermore, rice cultivation may aid the dispersion of I. senegalensis in the oriental region. Populations from the Ryukyu Islands show the highest genetic diversity, which may be due to the geological separation among islands. Our results prove that I. senegalensis has great genetic diversity among different populations across the world.
... In the wet tropics, their species richness may amount to 20 % of the local odonate fauna (e.g., China: Zhao 1990;Zhang 2018). In contrast, in arid areas and in environments that suffered from Pleistocene climate vagaries, mainly from the recurrence of glacial and interglacial epochs and humid and dry spells (e.g., Iran, Pakistan: Schneider et al. 2018;Schneider & Ikemeyer 2019), they are down to ca 10 %. Thanks to the generally mild character of the climate of the Mediterranean basin, the region studied in the present paper takes an intermediate position, with a ratio of ca 15 % (e.g., France: Aguesse 1968). ...
... The zone covered by this paper is Europe, from the Urals to the Mediterranean basin. Also included are the Arabic Peninsula and Iran as far as Baluchistan, where the Palaearctic meets the Oriental (Schneider et al. 2018;Schneider & Ikemeyer 2019) and where the genus Gomphus comes to its limit of south-eastward extent. From Afghanistan, no new data have become available since Schmidt (1961). ...
Around 27 species of predominantly riverine Gomphidae occur in the vast region encompassing Europe as far as the Urals, the Maghreb, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Middle East up to the west side of the Indus valley, including Arabia, Iran, and Balu-chistan. They are the remains of a pre-Pleistocene fauna that we estimate at twice the current number. We analyse the relationships, losses, and their causes at the molecular level and, not surprisingly, confirm the widely held opinion that the ice age is overwhelmingly responsible .
... For example, all members of the bidentata-group of the region are currently treated under C. insignis or a subspecies of this species [11]. Furthermore, some authors treated C. charpentieri or C. coronata as separate species without specifying scientific reasons [44][45][46][47]. ...
... The K2-P distance between these four taxa is 2.96-4.24% (Table 4), in agreement with a full species level [43,45,46]. The ITS analysis by the MAFT program, however, put them all together indicating a more recent diversification in this taxa complex (supported by our timetree, Figure S7). ...
... This is the reason why this taxon was sometimes treated as a subspecies of C. insignis in the past [2,14]. C. coronata is a Middle Asian taxon, which has its Western distribution limits in North-East Iran (Razavi Khorasan) as recently documented [46,47]. In North-Khorasan, C. coronata and C. charpentieri may meet, therefore, it would be of interest to investigate specimens from this region to see if hybridisation between them is possible. ...
... Biogeographically, the location of Iran within the continent has resulted in its being faunistically influenced by other biogeographical realms: the Palaearctic from the north, south by the Afrotropical, and southeast by the Oriental region [Crosskey, 2002;De Moore, Ivanov, 2007;Vafaei et al., 2009;Darilmaz et al., 2017Darilmaz et al., , 2018Bojková et al., 2018;Gentili et al., 2018;Schneider et al., 2018;Paksa et al., 2019]. Adding to this, diverse freshwater and terrestrial resources, and wide range of geologic complexities has contributed to a high degree of speciation and endemism of fauna in the country. ...
... Adding to this, diverse freshwater and terrestrial resources, and wide range of geologic complexities has contributed to a high degree of speciation and endemism of fauna in the country. For instance, Schneider et al. [2018] identified 100 autochthonous Odonata taxa and two migratory species in Iran. Of these taxa, they identified about half to be present in Europe, about 20 species having an Oriental or mixed origin, about 12 had African or mixed origin, few were of central or north Asian origin, and seven were endemic to the region. ...
An assessment of the Iranian Chironomidae diversity with an updated checklist is provided. In total, 65 species from 12 out of 31 provinces of Iran are recorded. Based on the distributional data obtained for these species, much of the biodiversity of this country is unknown, especially for central, south, and eastern regions. The most studied area of the country is Kurdistan Province in the west, with 36 known species, of which three new species and 31 new faunistic records were recently obtained from studies of rivers and streams of this region. Based on the records obtained, we can tentatively report Boreoheptagyia iranica Makarchenko, 2020, Palatovia lorestanica Makarchenko et Semenchenko, 2020, and Eraniella kurdistanensis Namayandeh, Ghaderi, Ghobari et Mohammadi, 2021 described from the Zagros Mountains are endemic to the country. The biogeographical location of Iran and its diverse geography, habitats, and reservoir of freshwaters suggest that the diversity of Iranian Chironomidae is far more than the current estimate. Therefore, there is an urgency in obtaining baseline data on the distribution and taxonomic abundance to understand the Iranian Chironomidae's diversity.
... For example, all members of the bidentata-group of the region are currently treated under C. insignis or a subspecies of this species [11]. Furthermore, some authors treated C. charpentieri or C. coronata as separate species without specifying scientific reasons [44][45][46][47]. ...
... The K2-P distance between these four taxa is 2.96-4.24% (Table 4), in agreement with a full species level [43,45,46]. The ITS analysis by the MAFT program, however, put them all together indicating a more recent diversification in this taxa complex (supported by our timetree, Figure S7). ...
... This is the reason why this taxon was sometimes treated as a subspecies of C. insignis in the past [2,14]. C. coronata is a Middle Asian taxon, which has its Western distribution limits in North-East Iran (Razavi Khorasan) as recently documented [46,47]. In North-Khorasan, C. coronata and C. charpentieri may meet, therefore, it would be of interest to investigate specimens from this region to see if hybridisation between them is possible. ...
Taxonomy of the genus Cordulegaster Leach in Brewster, 1815 in the Eastern part of the Western Palaearctic is poorly resolved. A two-step approach was applied: sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments were used to sort specimens; poorly known or new taxa with their phenotypic variation were described. The existence of two traditional groups (boltonii- and bidentata-group) was confirmed. Cordulegaster coronata Morton, 1916, however, belongs to a different group. Molecular-analysis supported three known and one new species (C. heros Theischinger, 1979, C. picta Selys, 1854, C. vanbrinkae Lohmann, 1993, and C. kalkmani sp. nov.) in the boltonii-group. In the bidentata-group, all specimens from West-Turkey belonged to C. insignis Schneider, 1845, all specimens further east to a complex of four closely related species, which we name charpentieri-complex (C. amasina Morton, 1916, stat. rev., C. mzymtae Bartenev, 1929 C. charpentieri (Kolenati, 1846), stat. rev. and C. cilicia sp. nov.). The following taxa: C. insignis nobilis Morton, 1916, syn. nov., C. nachitschevanica Skvortsov and Snegovaya, 2015, syn. nov. C. plagionyx Skvortsov and Snegovaya, 2015, syn. nov. and the Caucasian subspecies C. insignis lagodechica Bartenev, 1930, syn. nov., were synonymized with C. charpentieri. Finally, we provide a key for all Western Palaearctic Cordulegaster.
... The importance of these local faunistic studies is not limited to the province and reflects broadly on the whole country. For instance, despite decades of extensive and detailed studies on the terrestrial insects of Iran, only a handful of orders and families of aquatic insects in the country were studied (Bojková et al., 2018;Ebrahimi et al., 2009;Schneider et al., 2018). Except for freshwater vertebrates such as fish, baseline knowledge of biodiversity for freshwater invertebrates of Iran remains poor (Coad, 2005). ...
... ). The high biodiversity of Iranian fauna, particularly insects, has been contributed to its location and the influences from Palaearctic in the north, in the south Afrotropical from the Arabian Peninsula and in the southeast the Oriental region(Abe et al., 2007;De Moor & Ivanov, 2007;Lashkari Bod et al., 2011;Madjnoonian et al., 2005;Mirmoayedi & Malicky, 2002;Mozaffarian, 2013;Paknia et al., 2008;Paksa et al., 2019;Schneider et al., 2018;Sperling & Nazari, 2007). Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to observe a similar pattern of origin for the Chironomidae in the country. ...
We assessed the Chironomidae fauna of Qeshlagh River, the second largest running water in the Kurdistan Province of Iran, and a major tributary of Sirwan River, using molecular and morphological methods. We identified a total of 35 Chironomidae species from the Qeshlagh River. Of these, Eraniella kurdistanensis gen. n., sp. n. (Orthocladiinae), Cricotopus (Cricotopus) hedayati sp. n., and Tanytarsus ronaki sp. n. are new to science. We combined DNA barcodes of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene obtained from the three new species with available sequences in GenBank and BOLD. The maximum likelihood (ML) tree placed Eraniella as a likely sister group of Parakiefferiella group of genera. The ML tree placed C. hedayati in Cricotopus festivellus group and a sister group of Cricotopus albiforceps (Kieffer, 1916). The ML tree placed T. ronaki as a sister group of Tanytarsus tamagotoi Sasa, 1983. This study also identified 11 new faunistic records for Iran and range extensions for the Palearctic. The importance of these local faunistic studies reflects broadly on the whole country, as the baseline information on the taxonomy and biogeography of the Iranian Chironomidae is scarce.
... Notes. The current consensus is absence of clear subspecies in I. elegans [Schröter et al., 2015;Kosterin, Ahmadi, 2018;Schneider et al., 2018;Malikova, Kosterin, 2019]. ...
... South-west Asia (except for the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula) can also be excluded from the potential natal area, since P. flavescens does not develop in the Palaearctic part of the range in winter. This is evidenced, for example, by numerous works on the dragonflies of Iran, which are summarized in the checklist [37]. Palaearctic Africa can also be excluded from the likely natal areas of P. flavescens. ...
In Middle Asia, the dragonfly Pantala flavescens makes regular seasonal migrations. In spring, sexually mature dragonflies (immigrants) arrive in this region for reproduction. Dragonflies of the aboriginal generation (residents) develop in about two months, and migrate south in autumn. Residents of Middle Asia have significantly lower δ2H values (−123.5 (SD 17.2)‰, n = 53) than immigrants (−64.4 (9.7)‰, n = 12), as well as aboriginal dragonfly species from Ethiopia (−47.9 (10.8)‰, n = 4) and the Sahel zone (−50.1 (15.5)‰, n = 11). Phenological data on P. flavescens in the Afro-Asian region and a comparison with published isotopic data on migratory insects from this region suggest that (i) the probable area of origin of P. flavescens immigrants is located in tropical parts of East Africa and/or the Arabian Peninsula and (ii) the autumn migration of Middle Asian residents to the south may also pass through the Indian Ocean. We assume that in the Afro-Asian region, there is an extensive migration circle of P. flavescens covering East Africa, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent with a total length of more than 14,000 km.
