Morphological and molecular evidence supports the species status of the Italian endemic Coenagrion castellani Roberts, 1948 (Coenagrionidae)

Klaas-Douwe B. Dijkstraa , Giacomo Assandrib,c,d, Andrea Galimbertic,d,e

  1. Naturalis Biodiversity Center, PO Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
  2. Department of Life Sciences and System Biology, University of Turin, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123, Turin, Italy
  3. Odonata.it – Società Italiana per lo Studio e la Conservazione delle Libellule (ODV)
  4. National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo 90133, Italy
  5. ZooPlantLab, Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano – Bicocca, P.za Della Scienza 2, 20126-I Milan, Italy

International Journal of Odonatology, Volume 26, Pages 44-53, 2023
https://doi.org/10.48156/1388.2023.1917025
Published: 26 April 2023 (Received: 14 December 2022, Accepted: 16 April 2023)

Abstract

Coenagrion castellani Roberts, 1948 was described from Italy as a distinct species almost 75 years ago but has generally not been recognised or was treated as a subspecies of C. mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840). Populations south of the Alps were recently shown to be completely isolated genetically from those in North Africa and elsewhere in Europe. As markings and male appendages also allow for easy separation in the field, C. castellani is best treated as a good species, the 146th odonate species known from Europe and the second one that is endemic to Italy. Its identification and occurrence are reviewed. North African populations are distinct genetically too, but not in morphology. Whether these should be treated as a distinct taxon, e.g. as the subspecies C. mercuriale hermeticum (Selys, 1872), requires further research.

Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, damselfly, Zygoptera, Italy, phylogeography, taxonomy

Issue section: Original Article

Supplemental material